Who approved the location of NELMIC gas plant in Effurun residential area?
By GbaramatuVoice Editorial Board
The recent painful fire incident that gutted NELMIC Gas Plant along the popular Effurun-Sapele road in Effurun, near Jakpa junction, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta state, has again shown that while majority of states in the country has moved forward, Delta state, due to bad leadership, has chosen to be standstill.
The explosion, which occurred at about 9:00p.m., caused panic among residents of Alaka and Jakpa, located close to the company. Residents who witnessed the occurrence told GbaramatuVoice that no life was lost, but many residents of the area sustained different degrees of injuries and have been taken to an undisclosed hospital.
Indeed, while GbaramatuVoice sympathizes with the injured and consoles those whose property were affected by the explosion, what is however, more important to the newspaper is the fact that this latest occurrence has painted a cursory picture of a state that is not ready to learn from its past mistakes, apply its lessons or develop visions and reforms based on what works.
Apart from the awareness that gas plant explosions in the state have become a regular occurrence, the pains arising from the Alaka and Jakpa explosion is deepened by the fact that it was avoidable only if the state government had done the needful particularly in its regulatory and enforcement functions.
Further bringing this regulatory and enforcement failure to the fore is the news that the NELMIC Company Limited, the owners of the ill-fated Gas Plant, has another Gas Plant that is bigger in capacity located in another densely residential area along Airport road, Effurun, Delta state.
GbaramatuVoice visited this location along Airport road, and can authoritatively reports that it is a time bomb waiting to explode.
Against this backdrop, the question(s) may be asked; Why is the incidence of gas explosions in the state occurring? Who approved the locations of those gas plants in densely populated locations? Has the state governor forgotten that provision of security and pursuit of economic welfare of citizens is the only two constitutional responsibilities of the state which all leaders must achieve? What is the role of the state Ministries of Oil and Gas, Physical Planning and Environment? Which ministry is enforcing non-compliance by these organizations?
GbaramatuVoice recalls that in the year 2021 after a similar gas explosion in Agbor that claimed over 25 innocent lives, Delta state government released new guidelines and safely measures for the siting of gas plants and petroleum stations across the state. What happened to those guidelines and stringents conditions released by the state government? Why have they not been implemented?
In the present circumstance, the cannot be blamed alon as residents equally share part of the blame. In most cases, this people see such construction spring up in residential areas but for yet to be identified reasons, fail in their patriotic duty to report such development and provide needed care to their environment. It was actions such as this that accounts for the present happenings and as a state; we cannot get out of this circle of chaos without providing care at the most fundamental levels.
GbaramatuVoice holds the opinion that the state government and Deltans must no longer keep things the way they are hoping that luck will correct their part and put things in the right perspective.
Thus, while the newspaper calls on the state government to take action and clampdown on all gas plants located in residential areas, it also encourages residents to report such developments to relevant agencies and media organizations in the state that will assist inform the state Ministries of Oil and Gas, Environment, Physical Planning and other relevant agencies.
Most importantly, GbaramatuVoice urges the state government to make public the 2021 guidelines and safety measures for the location gas plants and petroleum stations across the state.
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