From Tony Osauzo, Benin
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) yesterday warned against the dangers in indiscriminate siting of Liquefied Gas Plants without recourse to safety measures.
The association, therefore, called on the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to check the trend and ensure compliance before issuing license to would-be gas plant operators, pointing out that the current state of affairs in the sector posed a threat, which could be disastrous to the environment.
Outgoing President of the association, Basil Ogbuanu, stated the position of the association in Benin City, Edo State, yesterday, when the association held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and national election.
“I want to use this opportunity to remind our members and regulatory agencies that a lot of people are coming into this business now with a mindset of profit alone, not talking about safety but you will agree with me that injury to one is injury to all. When there is explosion in Enugu, it will affect the entire Nigeria; when it happens in Kano, it will affect everyone. We must continue to advocate and work closely with DPR, they should go round because a lot of things are going wrong in this industry, especially when we are talking about the streets. We are not totally against it but we are against indiscriminate positioning of these facilities.
“If you go to some places, when you see the way they display these things, you will weep for this country because it is a time bomb waiting to explode but I believe that if DPR can rise to the occasion, it will save us of this imminent danger; they should do something.