Benin City, Nigeria…The Civil Empowerment & Rule of Law Support Initiative, CERLSI has tasked Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta State governor to adopt recommendations as contained in a Niger Delta Cultural magazine, WADONOR which details activities of tank farms in the Niger Delta and how to regulate them.
On Friday, 22nd January 2021, a gas plant located on the Asaba-Agbor Expressway exploded and suspected to have killed over 300 Niger Deltans and razing many houses to the ground.
Prior to this unfortunate event, a Niger Delta cultural magazine, WADONOR in its cover story titled Tank Farms & Mystery of Strange Deaths in the Niger Delta, had detailed the dangers inherent with siting tank/gas farms anywhere close to residential areas.
Speaking just after the awful explosion in Agbor, WADONOR editor in chief and who doubles as CERLSI deputy executive director said that instead of a feeling of vindication, what ensues is a sense of loss and outrage that the government of Delta state took the report as contained in WADONOR…cultural voice of the Niger Delta,https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pDYjJbNs1NLKe60aL573Jfe5YNIry5-m/view?usp=sharing with a pinch of salt.
‘What is really unfortunate about the incident of January 22 2021 in Agbor is that even though we had gone ahead to get this information out to the Delta State government through the local press https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/12/31/tank-farms-of-deadly-fumes/, and published likewise on the international press, nothing seems to have been done about the indiscriminate siting, and unregulated tank/gas farms in Delta State.
We have forwarded it to the social media handles of the Delta State government but what has become its outcome is this unnecessary loss of lives and property of Deltans’, Mr Etemiku said.
According to the WADONOR report (cited above), tank/gas farms dot the nooks and crannies of the Delta state. Even though these gas/tank farms contribute to the economy of the state, their presence within residential areas endanger the lives of Niger Deltans.
Most hardly meet all or any of the safety measures as stipulated by the Department of Petroleum resources, some of which include adherence to sections 3.1 (i & ii) and 6 (i, ii & iii) of the Guidelines for the Establishment of Hydrocarbon Processing Plants (Petroleum Refinery And Petrochemicals).
Section 3 of the Guidelines concern a certain Approval to Construct, ATC, and is valid for only 24months. It involves issues of procurement and construction of tank/gas farms.
Under the guidelines highlighted by the Department of Petroleum Resources, proprietors of tank/gas farms are expected to provide a detailed (a) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study of the area as provided for in the National Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industries in Nigeria (EGASPIN) as issued by the DPR before commencement of construction.
‘A UNEP report has said that deaths resulting from not adhering to safety regulations binding proprietors of gas/tank farms is nearly 9million annually. We believe that unregulated activities of the tank farms spread across Delta State contribute to unnecessary deaths in the Delta state.
We reiterate calls on the Delta State government, made by WADONOR…cultural voice of the Niger Delta, for the regulation of operations of these tank farms by introducing a task force to look into the activities of gas/tank depots and farms in Delta state. The peoples of the Niger Delta have suffered too much from pollution of their environments from oil prospecting activities. Deaths from unregulated tank/gas installation adds misery to injury’, Mr Etemiku said.
About CERLSI: To educate Nigerian citizens on the import of the vote, their rights and privileges under the laws of Nigeria. Our focal areas include citizen engagement and capacity building, Rule of Law, Community advocacy, Media, Human Rights
Contact:
Civil Empowerment & Rule of Law Support Initiative, CERLSI.
Along Oko ADP Road
Off Airport Road,
Benin City,
Nigeria
+234815617113
