Illegal erection of LPG plant besides residential houses Infant Jesus Road Asaba residents petition NMDPRA

Residents of Imade Osazee street , off Infant Jesus Road , Asaba, the Delta State Capital , have petitioned the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority ( NMDPRA), with headquarters at Abuja FCT, over what they described as ‘illegal erection of Liquefied Petroleum Gas ( LPG) plant, besides residential houses”.

The residents decried the illegal erection of the Gas plant whose construction has reached advanced stages , citing inherent danger should any incident occur which will ultimately result to loss of lives and property , with the recent LPG explosion that claimed scores of lives in Agbor, Ika South , in view .

In the petition sent to the State Coordinator NMDPRA, 19/21 Warri Sapele road , Warri, which has been formally acknowledged, Solicitors to the aggrieved Imade Osazee street residents, PJ Eleweke and Partners , Barristers and Solicitors of the Supreme Court of Nigeria , ” the said Gas plant, sited behind A.A. RANO filling station , are being built simultaneously and without taking cognizance of the required setback as provided in the law and your office’s best practices for LPG construction as it can be seen that the said contraction is less than 5 metres from the living bedroom of our clients”.

Excerpts of the petition state inter alia:” Our clients were informed by an Engineer on site that it ( LPG plant) belongs to AA Rano filling station and that he is an influential person who has seen and settled all regulatory authorities and as such, no one can stop the erection. That the illegal Gas station could not have been qualified for approval by your office , as the said erection is in a residential area and besides a residential house which poses great danger to the environment”.

The residents therefore appealed to the NMDPRA Delta Coordinator, to urgently intervene by investigating and taking appropriate actions to stop the current construction of the illegal LPG plant so as to prevent what they described as “the impending time bomb should any explosion occur in the operation of the illegal LPG plant”.

One of the residents in the area who pleaded anonymity said “the petrol station and LPG plant, apart from being built in a densely populated residential area, is also directly in front of the Infant Jesus schools that accommodates thousands of students in the boarding facility. It is inherently a potential danger to build such facilities close to residential areas , moreso , a public school of this magnitude”.

Those copied in the petition include His Excellency the Governor of Delta State , Chief Executive NMDPRA, Engr Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, the Hon Commissioner Ministry of Oil and Gas , Chief Peter Uviejotonor, Hon Commissioner for Environment, Ejiro Tommy Jamani, Asaba Capital Territory Development Agency and the Executive Chairman , Oshimili South LGA.