Minister visits Kano gas explosion victims, pledges support

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Faruk, has visited the 26 surviving victims of the gas explosion in Kano.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the incident, which had already claimed a life, occurred on Thursday night at Sheka Quarters, Kano.

Faruk, who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, met the survivors at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, Kano, where they were being treated.

“We will support the victims in managing their care, as care of burns requires a lot of dedication, and time and is also expensive.

“Many of the victims are in critical condition, burn is not a small injury in health. We pray such an incident would not occur again,” she said.

Faruk said that the ministry would put in place a mechanism to ensure that the sale and use of gas were safer than they were now.

“It is already ringing a bell that a lot of things are unsafe and they needed to be sanitised. We will draw the attention of relevant authorities to them,” she said.

Earlier, the hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Dr Hussaini Muhammad, said out of the 27 victims that were brought to the facility on June 2, one had died while the others were being treated.

On his part, the Executive Secretary, Kano State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr Saleh Jili, commended the minister for her support and wished the victims a speedy recovery.

NAN reports that the minister was accompanied by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Kano Territorial Coordinator, Dr Nuradeen Abdullahi.

NAN recalls that on May 17 gas explosion rocked Kano, killing nine and injuring ten.