Kola Adepoju, Abeokuta

The mild drama which took place at the annual Ibogun/Olaogun Day came as President Obasanjo upbraided Senator Ibikunle Amosun, for dumping Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to pick the governorship ticket of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) for Ogun State.

The president was a special guest at the high profile traditional ceremony which attracted notable political leaders and industry chieftains.

Addressing dignitaries, which included Senator Amosun who defected to ANPP and later, picked the party’s governorship ticket, Obasanjo expressed disappointment at the senator for refusing his plea not to leave PDP.

Governor Gbenga Daniel had earlier in his speech at the occasion set the ball rolling when he declared that Obasanjo was an exemplary father to all including those children who have derailed and gone astray.

Daniel who digressed and spoke in Yoruba, however, said that PDP door was still open to accept decampees back to its fold.

Only last week, the state chairman of PDP, Chief Joju Fadairo at a news conference announced the party’s plan to write the Senate to declare Amosun’s seat vacant.

In a similar twist to Olaogun/Ibogun Day celebration, Governor Ladoja of Oyo State and Chief Akala caused a noticeable stir as they avoided each other like a plague.

Apart from arriving the occasion at different time, Ladoja and Akala sat separately at a distance as if they are not representing Oyo State government.

Akala arrived the occasion alone contrary to expectations that he would accompany his boss to the event.

Few minutes after Akala’s arrival, Ladoja further took the audience spell bound when he stormed the occasion with his entourage which avoided and shunned Akala like a plague.

As if competing, the duo of Ladoja and Akala later donated N1million each to the development of Ibogun and Olaogun community.

Commending the transformation of Olaogun/Ibogun village to a town, Obasanjo said community development was not an exclusive function of government.

He enjoined various stakeholders to team up with government at all levels to ensure grass-root development in the state and Nigeria at large.

Also speaking earlier, Governor Daniel said Obasanjo has improved development of Ibogun/Olaogun town by establishing the first power station in Southwest at Papalanto as well as the reactivated Railway Term in us in Kajola all at Ifo Local Government.

Over N25 million was raised for the development of Ibogun/Olaogun town.

President Obasanjo thereafter commissioned Ibogun/Olaogun Garri processing industry.

60 survivors of yesterday’s pipeline inferno killed about 300 people at Abule-Egba a Lagos sub-burb, were still on danger list at the intensive care units (ICUs) in four general hospitals across the stare, just as governor Bola Tinubu declared mass burial for the dead victims.

Ail Champion reliably gathered that the Lagos State Univeristy Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja is hosting 24 while the General Hospital, Gbagada has 13 victims.

The remaining is shared between the general hospital, Isolo and Lagos Island General hospital.

The victims are suffered various degrees of burn, as some were seen at the LASUTH, Ikeja almost virtually burnt. According to a medial personnel (names withheld) their chances of survival is slim, because "Their lungs and livers were affected," he said.

Addressing the sympathizers and residents of the area, on arrival at about 2pm Governor Bola Tinubu said: "I sympathize with Nigerians on this occasion of this tragedy."

He however blamed the fire incident on lack of employment for the citizenry, "If there had been employment in the country, no right thinking citizen of any country would have dared the consequences of siphoning oil from a pipeline.

"This is the evidence of poverty, hunger and deprivation; it is a shame on Nigeria as the most populous blauk nation in the world, and the eighth largest producer of oil in the world; the country should live up to the responsibilities of catering for its citizens," Tinubu lamented.

Also speaking, the commissioner of police, Mr. Emmanuel Adebayo blamed the occurrence on the economic sabotage, saying that "the vandals have taken risk and those who have died have died for the risk they took; they have seen it happened before; those who have not seen it have heard about it, so if they went to that extent of taking risk, they carsed it.

"We advise those who are still thinking of that way to make money to desist from it because those lives cannot be brought back," Adebayo said, adding that he ha dispatched about 2,000 policemen to the area to protect lives and properties.

He said: "We have not less than 2,000 men here to provide security until the corpses are evacuated and the damaged pipeline is repaired."

A survivor, Daniel Umru, a staff of the Cross Society described the incident as horrible and said "this morning at about 7.30am to 8.00am, my attention was drawn that people were carrying fuel up and down at Abule Egba, and I telephoned our people that something would happen at Abule Egba in the next one hour.

"While the harvesting of fuel in the night old not result in an explosion in the night was due to cold weather." So most of the people that died are those that went to scoop fuel from the burst pipe in the morning.

More than 200 people died in this incident. And as I am talking to you more than 14 people still conscious have been taken to Ile-Epo General Hospital.

Umoh said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) blamed should be held responsible for the lack ?? of the security agents protecting the pipeline.