The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has said it is saddened by the unfortunate accident of petroleum tanker explosion which occurred at the Dikko community, Niger State, on the Abuja – Kaduna highway.

The Forum in a statement in Kaduna yesterday called on the Federal Government to intensify public enlightenment campaign against scooping of inflammable substances when accidents occur.

The statement signed by Professor Tukur Muhammad-Baba, National Publicity Secretary of the forum said the incident coming few months after a similar tragedy at Majia, Jigawa State, “demonstrates the nation’s grossly inadequate disaster preparedness and management in general and, in particular, the consequence of our people’s ignorance about inherent dangers in the rush to scoop petroleum and or dangerous and inflammable substances at accident scenes.

“It is indeed tempting to partly attribute the mad rush for the contents of the tanker, to the high price that petroleum products command.

However, the reality is that such crass looting of accidented vehicles is not a new phenomenon and signals the decline of edifying cultural values which ordinarily dictate the principle of Safety First, Always.”

However, ACF commiserates with members of Dikko Community, the Zazzau-Suleja Emirate, as well as the Government and people of Niger State over the tragedy.

ACF deeply mourned, as it prays for Devine succour to all those affected and for quick recovery from the impact of the incident.