The Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, has warned those storing gas cylinders indiscriminately without following safety rules and regulations to desist or face sanctions.
This was contained in a press statement by Nosa Okunbor, Head of Public Affairs Unit-LASEMA
on the 1st of January, 2024.
Dr. Oke-Osanyintolu handed down the warning during an assessment visit to the scene of the gas cylinders explosion at the Artists village within the National Theater Complex in Iganmu, Lagos.
The Permanent Secretary assured that the Lagos State Safety Commission and other relevant stakeholders would unravel the root cause of the gas cylinder explosions and bring anyone found wanting to book.
However, the fire which destroyed several 50 kg gas cylinders, alongside a bungalow comprising of three offices, was swiftly curtailed through efforts of the LASEMA Response Team and other responders at the incident scene.
In the same vein, the LASEMA PS also visited the site of the petroleum pipeline vandalisation at Ile-Epo in Agbado-Oke-Odo area of Lagos and renewed his appeal to residents to be safety conscious at all times.
While noting that two suspected vandals have been apprehended and handed over to the appropriate authorities, Dr. Oke-Osanyintolu warned against illegitimate activities that could claim the lives and properties of Lagos residents.
Meanwhile, the Executive Vice President at NNPC Downstream, Mr. Dapo Segun, assured that Engineers were on the way to fix the vandalized portion of the pipeline.
He also explained that there was no need to panic, stressing that the remnants of AGO in the vandalised pipeline were mixed with water, saying that the line had not been used for a long time.
Going forward, the Executive Vice President at NNPC Downstream assured that NNPC had plans to bury pipelines deeper to make it virtually impossible to access vandals, just as residents in such communities would be actively involved in securing the pipelines.
Residents of Ifedapo Pipeline CDA and Ese-Odo CDA, speaking through Pastor Adebayo Shotunde solicited for provision of more security personnel by the federal government to protect the oil pipelines better to avoid future reoccurrence.
