
Scores of victims of a tanker fire incident that occurred in the Apata area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital, have alleged that they have been shortchanged.
The victims made this disclosure during a protest in Ibadan on Thursday.
DAILY POST recalls that a petrol tanker recently lost control and caught fire in Apata.
It was gathered that some houses and shops were burnt during the incident that occurred on 15th December 2022.
DAILY POST correspondent learned that Governor Seyi Makinde who visited the area some hours after the incident announced a sum of N10m as a palliative for the affected traders.
The affected people during a protest on Thursday alleged that the wrong people collected the money, calling on Gov Makinde to come to their aid.
The victims stormed the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, secretariat at Iyaganku in Ibadan on Thursday bearing placards with various inscriptions. They asserted that they were sidelined while others claimed they were given insignificant shares of the money.
According to them, 45 beneficiaries were listed but after the money was released, the list grew to more than 70.
They also claimed that the beneficiaries list was later doctored to accommodate those who were not affected, while the four representatives apportioned to themselves the lion’s shares of the money.
One of the victims, Adunni Olasunkanmi, said that the house she lived in and stored her goods was burnt but she was only given a sum of one hundred thousand naira.
She alleged that many people who were not affected were given huge sums of money.
She said: “My name is Olasunkanmi Adunni, a bread and essential goods seller affected by the fire. The first day that the governor visited the scene of the accident, he promised to give us N10m as a relief fund, and later, his representatives brought the cash to us.
“There were 45 names on the list but unfortunately, that list increased with those who were not affected included. We don’t know the new beneficiaries. The house I lived in and stored my goods was burnt and I was only lucky to escape with my four children.
“Initially, the sum of N500,000 was penciled as the amount I was to collect but I was only given N100,000. Aminat Bamidele, who did not lose anything to the fire because she was not among the traders affected got N300,000. Someone who claimed to be a shoemaker got N200,000. I lost over N12m worth of property to the fire”.
Another protester, Temilade Makinde, whose store was burnt in the fire, said she was promised N500,000 but got N60,000.
She urged Gov Makinde to investigate the disbursement of the money.
“A day before the fire incident, I stocked the store with N1.3m worth of foodstuff but everything is gone including the building housing the store. In the list, N500,000 was estimated as compensation for me but after the list was doctored, I was given N60,000. We appeal to the governor to investigate the disbursement of the money and retrieve victims’ money from imposters, ” she said.
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