Senate urges DPR to enforce ban on illegal cooking gas retailers

The Senate has urged the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to clamp down on illegal roadside retailers of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

This, the Senate said, was to enhance safety in the country.

The resolution was sequel to a motion moved by Sen. Ibikunle Amosun (APC-Ogun) during plenary on Tuesday.

The motion was “On the need to curb the rising cases of gas-related fire incidences, explosions and deaths in Ogun”.

The upper chamber also urged DPR to step up the clamp down on illegal roadside retailers of LPG who  operate without a valid licence or who operate within residential areas.

The senate equally mandated its Committees on Gas, and Industries to investigate the cause(s) of the recent cases of Gas explosions in Ogun, other states and the FCT.

This, it said, was in order to find permanent and sustainable solutions that would save the lives of the people, and report back to the Senate.

Moving the motion, Amosun said that natural gas found in abundance in the country had continued to gain acceptance among most homes in Nigeria as it was used for cooking, welding.

He said  that this essential commodity, if not well managed and regulated, could be a curse rather than a blessing because of the loss of lives and destruction of properties that were usually associated with it whenever anything went wrong.

The lawmaker called on regulatory agencies in the LPG to live up to their responsibilities to enforce standards, clamp down on the influx of sub-standard cylinders and retailers who dispense adulterated gas.

The resolutions were all adopted after a voiced vote by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.