From: Segun in Bauchi
Concerned residents of Tirwun and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Kari Estate Staff Quarters in Bauchi metropolis are appealing to the concerned Authorities to as a matter of urgency halt the construction of a Gas Plant by Action Energy Nigeria limited in their locality considering the dangers associated with such.
The residents said that the location of Action Energy proposed Gas Plant at the
site located behind Soro Petrol Filling Station, along ATBU-Kari Estate road,
opposite the Tirwun Jummuat/Eid mosque is hazardous to their experience.
The residents while addressing Journalists on Sunday at the NUJ Press Center expressed fear that In the unfortunate event of an explosion, which is eminent, the location not only puts the lives thousands of Tirwun Jummuat/Eid mosque worshipers at risk; but also the
lives of hundreds of residents; as well as the lives of the pupils and students
from both the adjacent Nursery/Primary and Tsangaya Schools in jeopardy.
Spokesperson of the residents, Muhammad Gurama supported Muhammad Ali Chiroma, Mubarak Hamza and Abdulmalik Saleh Yalwa further noted that the sharing of the gas plant in the same premises with the petrol filling station presents a double jeopardy where one will ignite and fuel the other, more like two time bombs ticking to detonate at any moment.
They also said that the approval obtained for situating the gas plant was temporarily issued without recourse to the Bauchi State Fire Service Directorate saying that the promoters of the Gas Plant have failed to provide an
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report to the host community
to ascertain the effects and mitigating measures.
According to them, the intended access road to the LPG Plant is just for residential purposes, constructed to serve ATBU quarters and not adequate for trucks/tankers to manoeuvre in and out of the gas plant factory site without causing havoc.
“We are aware that BASEPA and Bauchi State Urban Development Board have both issued stop work order on the gas plant but they refused to comply since May 2021 while Another stop work order had been recently issued ordered by His
Excellency, Executive Governor of Bauchi State (JULY 2021)”, the residents claimed.
They disclosed that the gas plant shares the same premises with the petrol filling Station making it a more potent to destructive force considering a few of examples throughout Nigeria of gas explosions.
The residents pointed out that Gas Explosions in Lafia, Nasarawa State, on Monday 10 September 2018 where at least 35 people were killed with
hundreds injured and 17 vehicle including two fuel tankers burnt to ashes.
Also, motorcycles and three tricycles were burnt to similar situation they have here with Action Energy, this Lafia explosion is also a combination of petrol filling Station and gas plant.
They also pointed to the Gas Explosions in Lagos at Ado Soba, on 16th March 2020 where at least 21 persons died and 57 injured, 43 vehicles while the residents were rendered homeless, 50 buildings damaged, 468 damaged just as it happened in Kaduna, Ogun and other states which had their share of such harrowing explosions.
“While we highly appreciate and are grateful to Governor of Bauchi State, for his timely intervention of issuing
stop-work-order, which Action Energy had and is still flagrantly violating: we
wish to call for the revocation of the property title in order to save lives”, the residents strongly appealed.