DPR to clamp down on gas shops located at residential areas in A’Ibom

By Bassey Anthony, Uyo

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Akwa Ibom says it would clamp down on cooking gas shops located around residential areas in the state.

Operations Controller of DPR, Victor Ohwodiasa, who disclosed this on Wednesday, said it was totally unsafe to situate gas shops, most of them illegal, close to people’s homes.

“It is unacceptable practice, we will definitely clamp on them, As a speak now, our men is on the way to check on the illegal gas stations and any one caught, we face the wrath of the law,” Ohwodiasa said.

Ohwodiasa said that the exercise would be a continuous until the department would be able to regularise those that are regularisable based on the safety considerations.

He warned that illegal gas shops that are not regularise would be shut permanently in the state.

“We won’t compromise the operation because safety is involved and we are very critical about it and we don’t need to be reactive but we want to be proactive before we have incident, we need to nib it to the bud,” he said.