FCTA vows sanctions against erring fuel stations

The Director General of FCT Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Abbas Idriss, has warned that fuel stations risk sanctions and loss of operating licences if they continue to violate safety standards for products discharge.

He added that they may also be compelled to pay compensation to any third party whose property is affected as a result of their negligence.

Idriss gave the warning during a chat with newsmen in Abuja, where he disclosed that the FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammad Bello, was worried about the rising cases of fuel station fires, and had directed that such filling stations must be sanctioned for violating the laws regulating their business.

The FEMA boss also said that the FCT Administration was liaising with the Upstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, and other stakeholders to ensure strict adherence to the regulations on product discharge.

He emphasised that no filling station should discharge petroleum products when temperatures were high, to avoid any incidence of a fire incident.

Idriss also condemned and described as unacceptable, the recent attack on firemen in the course of fighting the fire at Enyo filling station.

He said the FCTA was putting modalities in place to ensure that filling stations have public liability insurance and maintained the minimum standard for fire defence equipment, and also the adequate training of staff on safety measures.

The DG appealed to residents to always use the 112 emergency toll-free number in the event of an emergency.

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