The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, said on Wednesday the government has discovered foreign names in the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) documents of the company behind Tuesday’s explosion in Ibadan, the state capital.
At least three persons have been confirmed dead and 77 others injured in the blast that rocked the Oyo State capital at about 8:00 p.m., on Tuesday.
The explosion which occurred at a private building in Dejo Oyelese Street, Adeyi area of Bodija in Ibadan affected four buildings in the area with windows shattered and walls brought down.
The blast also affected dozens of buildings in Sango, Mokola, University College Hospital (UCH), Agodi, and Ojoo areas of the state.
Makinde, who spoke on a Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today, said the government had identified the company involved in the storage of explosive devices in the building.
He promised to identify all those involved in the incident.
The governor added that he would seek approval from President Bola Tinubu to compel miners with explosives to store them with the military.
He said: “Yes, we are trying to uncover the identity of the people involved. The company involved we have done a few fact-finding. And yes, there are indeed some foreign names in the CAC documents of the company involved. But these are still very early days. We don’t have any reason to cover anything.
“It is a failure of the neighbourhood association because we always admonish our people. If you see something that doesn’t look right, then bring it to the attention of the authorities and then they will do something about it.
“So, people within this neighbourhood are aware of some of these things but it was never brought to the attention of the authorities.
“I will be seeking approval from the President for us in Oyo State to ensure that any mining activity, anybody that has to deal with explosives, take it to storage with the military. And if they need to use it, they go there, collect it and the military will escort them to where they will use it.
“So in the days ahead, once I have the nod of Mr. President, I should be signing an executive order that will make it mandatory for anybody dealing with explosives in Oyo State to have it stored with the military.”