Louis Ibah and Moshood Adebayo
A total of 588 people have been displaced from their respective homes by the explosion that occurred penultimate Sunday at Shogba, Abule Ado Area of Lagos State.
Director-General of the state Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, made the disclosure yesterday.
In an updated report released by the agency, 102 of the persons are in a relief camp at Igando.
Oke-Osanyintolu also revealed that fumigation was being carried out for four days and advised members of the public to keep away from the area.
He disclosed that a total of 340 buildings had been identified as having been affected by the impact of the explosion and would be subjected to a series of tests.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), yesterday, said its preliminary investigation revealed that Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, was not responsible for the explosion which rocked Abule Ado in the Trade Fair axis of Lagos on March 15.
Executive Secretary of the union, Mr. Bassey Essien, in a statement in Lagos, who commiserated with victims said immediately NALPGAM was informed of the incident, members of its Technical, Monitoring and Surveillance Committee visited the scene for an on the spot assessment of the impact.
He said the team also obtained eye witness accounts as part of its brief to unravel the empirical causes of the explosion.
“Contrary to insinuations from various quarters, our preliminary investigation has revealed that LPG was not the cause of the explosion.
“An LPG plant in the vicinity of the explosion as well as two LPG storage vessels with their contents in a skid plant located in a petrol filling station close to the scene of the explosion were still intact without any sign of damage done to them. Some quantities of 50kg gas cylinders with their contents intact belonging to a nearby gas retailer were not damaged. This thus lends credence to the fact that the explosion had no direct or remote connection to LPG, “ Essien said.
According to him, NALPGAM is willing to make available its members , who with their wealth of experience, could assist the panel set up to investigate the Abule Ado explosion whenever their services are required.
