Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has called off his planned birthday celebrations in response to the horrific stampede at a children’s funfair in Ibadan that claimed the lives of 35 children.
Governor Makinde, whose birthday falls on December 25th, called the occurrence “painful, unfortunate, and preventable.”
He declared that he would not be attending any celebrations, saying, “I will not go out; no birthday celebration this year.”
The stampede happened at Islamic High School in Basorun, Ibadan, during a children’s funfair. The Women In Need Of Guidance and Support Foundation planned the event intending to host up to 5,000 children and provide them with prizes and scholarships.
Unfortunately, the catastrophic stampede was caused by overcrowding as a result of the enormous turnout.
Due to the tragedy, the governor also called off a scheduled book launch and birthday lecture in Ebonyi State. An inquiry is being conducted to ascertain the reasons behind the stampede, and he said that “anyone directly or remotely involved in this disaster will be held accountable.” He also pledged to grieve for the lives lost and underlined the importance of accountability.
A delegation from the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) South-East chapter, headed by Sen. Adolphus Wabara, chairman of the party’s board of trustees, has backed Governor Makinde’s decision to call off his birthday celebrations.
To express sympathy to the governor and the people of Oyo State for the unfortunate event, the team travelled to Ibadan.
