In a bid to ensure sustainable mitigation of loss of lives and property to incessant fire outbreaks and explosions from gas and fuel outlets in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) through the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has advocated for the establishment of a Safety Commission for the territory.
The director-general of FEMA, Alhaji Abbas Idriss who disclosed this yesterday, during a press briefing in Abuja, said the proposed commission will take charge of the responsibility of issuing operating licences and effectively curbing the proliferation of liquid cooking gas and petrol outlets in the FCT.
Idriss who warned that if such commission was not established, the FCT is going to have fires and explosions that are going to cause much havoc in the nation’s capital, disclosed that in furtherance to the advocacy, they had even gone to some states to do some understudy, to see what they are doing.
“We are advocating that we should have a Safety Commission in the FCT, which will take charge of the responsibility of issuing operating licenses. Because, most of these gas stations do not operate the way they are supposed to, as they do not have the training and adequate staffing to handle such ventures.
“So, we have written for it, and we will continue to advocate for such sustainable intervention. We had a committee on the incessant gas explosion in FCT, but that does not mean that we are not taking action.
“Now, with the fire incident in three filling stations, we have revisited those actions, and we are awaiting a response from the FCT Minister. Something good is coming out. It is a concern that we can’t ignore, as it is part of our responsibility. We had even gone to some states to do some understudy, to see what they are doing.
“So, if we do not have a safety commission established and regulated by the FCTA that will ensure that they train each operator of gas outlets and filling stations to follow the right thing required of them, we are going to have fires and explosions that are going to cause much havoc in the FCT,” he said.
