OSBC Osun State Broadcasting Corporation
Former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun has congratulated Nigerians and particularly, christians in Osun as they celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Oyetola in a statement by his media aide, Ismail Omipidan, called on Nigerians to rededicate themselves to selfless service of humanity with emphasis on brotherly love, patience, tolerance, care for one another among other virtues, he noted are in line with the true teachings of Jesus Christ.
While urging Nigerians to seize the occasion to spread love to their neighbours and remember the less privileged as they celebrate Christmas, the former Governor equally encouraged them to use the festive period to pray for peace, unity and prosperity of Osun and Nigeria, especially for the year 2023, an election year.
The statement reads in part: “As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, let us seize the occasion to spread the love of Christ with our neighbours and the less privileged in the society.
“I urge you all to also utilise the period to pray for peace, unity and prosperity of our dear State, Osun and our county, Nigeria, especially ahead of the year 2023, which is an election year.
“More than ever before, now is the time to make these virtues of brotherly love, honesty and peaceful co-existence evident and practical in our daily lives.
“Let us seize this occasion to pray for the prosperity, peace and unity of Nigeria as this period calls for introspection and continued prayers for our dear nation. I, therefore, call on Nigerians to continue to reflect on the positive tenets that unite us as a nation and strengthen the polity.
“On behalf of my family, I wish the citizens and residents of our dear State, especially those of the Christian faith, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year ahead,” Oyetola said.
Africa’s authorities announced on Sunday that the death toll from Saturday’s tanker explosion near Iragberi has risen from10 to15.
The tanker contained60,000litres of LPG gas and got stuck under a bridge in the residential area of Boksburg.
“I went upstairs to have my cup of tea and I saw immense flames, I thought a house was on fire. I phoned the fire brigade immediately, and they responded, they said “no ma’am it’s fine, we are sending somebody, it’s ok, help is on its way.” And after that I just received one bit of bad news after the other. There are two children here across the road, 16, the girl and 25 the boy who came and did my lawn every weekend for me, they’ve charred, they’re gone, they’ve died”, lamented local resident, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
Another local resident, Akande, added “I think I was 50 meters away from the scene and when the third one exploded, I was about 400 meters away, of which like, where we are standing here, most of us we did burn behind our backs. Because even some of the stones from the rail (railway line, Ed.) you can see them on the floor here”.
A spokesperson for the local emergency services said the truck was trapped under a bridge early on Saturday.