Governor Dapo Abiodun on Friday gave way to tears after visiting victims of petrol tanker fire that occurred on Thursday night at the Ota corridor of the Abeokuta – Lagos expressway.

Abiodun who pledged that measures would be put in place to ensure that the incessant accidents on the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta Expressway become a thing of the past, picked the hospital bills of the victims and also directed that they be transferred to specialist hospitals for better care.

The Governor while commiserating with the victims of the inferno at the Sango toll gate which led to loss of lives and properties, explained that the planned takeover of the road by both the Ogun and Lagos state governments would put an end to the unnecessary loss of lives and properties in the area.

An emotional Governor Abiodun wept as he ordered the transfer of victims to tertiary healthcare facilities in Lagos and Abeokuta promised to pay the medical bills of the victims.

Two people died in the inferno and properties worth millions of naira destroyed when a fuel-laden truck went up in flames after being involved in an accident as a result of brake failure.

Governor Abiodun, while addressing residents at Ota toll gate and the State Hospital in the town noted that the Federal Government should accede to the demands of both the Lagos and Ogun state governments to reconstruct the road to stem the incessant accident in the axis.

He said: “I am most distressed by the news of the midnight inferno at the Sango toll gate, which was the result of an accident by a fuel-laden truck.

“It is heartbreaking that many lives were lost in addition to properties running into millions of naira.

“This sad occurrence has made our quest to take over the management of this road more compelling. The incessant road mishap around the toll gate axis is avoidable. While I commiserate with those who lost their loved ones and property, we shall do everything humanly possible to forestall future recurrence.”

Governor Abiodun prayed for the repose of the soul of the dead and called for caution on the part of motorists conveying fuel and other explosive products across roads with heavy vehicular movement and human traffic.

“May I use this opportunity to once again plead that the Federal Government should approve the request of both the Ogun and Lagos State Governments to take this all-important Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta expressway over,” he said.

The governor said firefighters and officers of TRACE and sister agencies have since been on ground, putting out the fire, easing its effects on traffic and attending to victims.

The governor reassures the people that the joint efforts with the Lagos State Government will be intensified, to take over the road from the Federal Government in order to bring in the needed succour.

“Once the road is taken over, expedited action will be taken to immediately begin reconstruction, so that there may be easy movement of goods and person, and consequently, a reduction in the occurrence of accidents of this nature,” the governor added.