From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
The Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Dele Alake, has assured Nigerians that the Federal Government is committed to ascertaining the actual cause of the tragic explosion that rocked Ibadan, Oyo State capital last week.
The minister in a statement made available by his Special assistant on media, Segun Tomori, said the ministry has resolved to await the outcome of painstaking forensic investigations before making a definite pronouncement.
He believes that in sensitive situations like this, the security agencies should be allowed to do their job, as against acting on speculations. That way, the people are better informed, culprits can be brought to book, and concerted efforts can be put in place to avoid a recurrence.
“The Federal Government is now waiting for the outcome of forensic investigations that will determine the real cause of the blast, the explosives type that triggered it and the circumstances leading to the unfortunate incident that led to loss of lives and properties.
It would be recalled that last week during the Federal Executive Council meeting, President Bola Tinubu took a step to holistically address insecurity around our nation’s natural resources by constituting an inter-ministerial committee led by Dr Alake to come up with a blueprint to effectively and efficiently secure solid minerals, forests, and marine economy, which constitutes Nigeria’s natural resources.
The committee held a maiden meeting last Friday and has been working round the clock to draw up strategies of achieving the presidential mandate. In the coming days, there will be an expanded meeting with heads of security agencies, which will assist the committee in getting the requisite inputs that will guide it in turning in a robust report to the president.