October 05, (THEWILL) – The House of Representatives has initiated efforts to avert future fuel tanker explosions in Delta State.
This followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Hon. Thomas Ereyitomi at plenary on Wednesday, and seconded by Hon. Ginger Onwusibe.
Hon. Ereyitomi, while leading the debate, bemoaned the loss of over 20 lives and destruction of various houses and properties in a recent fuel tanker explosion on the Benin-Warri Highway, which he said has become a recurring phenomenon.
He called on the House to, as a matter of urgency, mandate the National Emergency Management Agency, as well as the Ministry of Disaster Management and that of Humanitarian Affairs to ensure relief materials get to the affected victims.
He also called on the Federal Ministry of Works to ensure rehabilitation of the Benin-Warri Express road to ensure such accidents do not reoccur.
Hon. Ereyitomi also called on the relevant Committees of the House to ensure compliance.
The motion was voted on, adopted and referred to the House Committee on Works, Housing, Legislative Compliance and the Federal Road Maintenance Agency.
Also at the plenary, Hon. Musa Avia moved a motion on the need to address the resurgence of armed attacks on some communities of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, and it was seconded by Hon. Ishaya David.
Hon. Avia, leading the debate, wondered why these peaceful communities continue to suffer unprovoked attacks on their citizens.
He bemoaned the fact that the armed herdsmen had left scores of victims in their path of wickedness.
Hon. Avia called on the Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector General of Police, as well as other Heads of Security Agencies, to deploy officers to beef up security to protect lives and property in the region.
He further called on the relevant security Committees of the House to ensure compliance.
The motion was voted on, adopted and referred to the House Committee on Defence and Police Affairs, as well as that on Legislative Compliance.
Also moving motion under a matter of urgent public importance, Hon. Jesse Okey moved a motion on the need to curb the excessive use of force by some Nigerian Police officers as well as Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) officials. The motion was seconded by Hon. Ayodeji Alao-Akala.
Hon. Okey, leading the debate, expressed great concern about the unscrupulous activities of some officers of the Nigerian police, as well as those of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, which led to the death of a woman and two children.
He condemned in strong terms the activities of the officers and called for their prosecution within two weeks.
The Deputy Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, condemned the needless loss of lives during the operations of the officers.
He reiterated the need for the officers to wear body cameras while on duty to promote accountability.
The motion was voted on, adopted and referred to the House Committee on Police Affairs as well as that on Legislative Compliance.
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
