KEPA seals 119 illegal gas outlets in Kaduna

The Kaduna Environmental Protection Authority (KEPA) has sealed 119 gas outlets in the state to ensure the safety of lives and properties.

Mr Jibrin Lawal, General Manager of the agency made this known in an interview in Kaduna.

Lawal said the closure was in line with Gov. Nasir El-Rufai’s directive, following a gas explosion on Jan.4, in which eight persons died and four were injured in the state.

El-Rufai ordered the closure of all illegal gas retail outlets located in residential areas across the state with immediate effect.

The directive came two days after an explosion occurred at an illegal gas retail shop in Sabon Tasha area of Chikun local government.

Lawal said that gas refilling was a high risk-activity that should not be allowed to operate in residential areas.

According to him, a total of 77 licensed gas re-fill station operators were sealed until safety measures are met while 42 unlicensed were sealed as regulatory measures to avert danger.

“Seventy-seven licensed gas plants were found mostly in petrol filling stations that did not meet up to safety standards as required by the agency for them to operate.”

He said the agency would continue to inspect gas facilities to ensure that they comply with Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).

Lawal commended residents for bringing in complaints on locations of refilling outlets while assuring that the exercise would be a continuous process to ensure that the environment was safe.

He said that the agency was working on providing industrial sites across the state to relocate gas refiling outlets from residential areas.

Lawal said the exercise was being carried out in collaboration with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Standards Organisation of Nigeria and some other relevant stakeholders.