The Nation Newspaper

Tag: CALABAR

  • 26 countries to participate in 2017 Calabar carnival – official

    26 countries to participate in 2017 Calabar carnival – official

    No fewer than  26 countries are participating in the 2017 Calabar carnival, Mr Ikobi Ikobi, a Commissioner in the Carnival Commission in charge of Media and Publicity has said.

    Ikobi, who spoke in an interview on Tuesday in Calabar, listed the countries to include, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Greece, Brazil, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Rwanda amongst others.

    According to Ikobi, the countries have shown interest to participate in the 2017 edition with the theme, “Migration’’.

    He said that the annual month-long carnival brings tourists from all over the world to the state and has been the melting point of Africa’s hospitality due to its diverse tourism events and sites, the green environment and the warm hospitality of the people.

    “The 2017 edition of the carnival will play host to over 26 countries. Countries that have indicated interest include Brazil, South Africa, Greece, Kenya, Thailand, Ghana, Mexico, Rwanda and others.

    “Most of them will have their own band on the grand finale of the carnival which is scheduled for Dec. 27 and Dec. 28.

    “Top in our priority is security; I can assure tourists coming in for the event of adequate security because we are liaising with all the security agencies in the state to ensure a peaceful and fun-fill celebration’’, he said.

    Similarly, Mr George Ekpungu, Commissioner for New Cities Development in the state, told NAN that the carnival had promoted talent and creativity since its commencement in 2004.

    Ekpungu added that the event has united the people of Cross River and Nigeria in general due to its robust activities and mass participation. (NAN

  • ‘INEC is working to achieve credible election in Cross River’

    ‘INEC is working to achieve credible election in Cross River’

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) is working towards achieving 100 per cent free, fair and credible election in Cross River in 2019.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner ( REC ) in the state, Dr Frankland Biriyai, made the statement on Tuesday in Calabar at a one-day workshop on voter Education and Publicity.

    The workshop was orgnised by INEC for Assistant Electoral Officers from the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.

    “This training will ensure that we achieve a record 100 per cent success in Cross River in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.

    “We are ready to achieve that; that is why you are being trained to go to your local government areas and educate the voters that we are in a new era.

    “I am sure that between now and 2019 if you do your work very well, voters will have faith in us and believe that we can conduct free, fair and credible election come 2019.

    “I urge you to maintain discipline and to keep working hard so that together we can do it, ‘’ Frankland said.

    The REC said the training was designed to take voter education to the grassroots through sensitisation and publicity.

    He insisted that INEC was capable of conducting credible elections that could be adjudged the best in the world.

    The Head of Department, Voter Education, Mrs Anthonia Nwobi, said the workshop would afford the officers the opportunity to learn new rules and guidelines that would assist them in their duties.

    She described voter education and publicity as key and paramount to the success of any election.

    NAN

  • ‘Dredging of Calabar Port to begin soon’

    ‘Dredging of Calabar Port to begin soon’

    The Calabar Port Manager, Mrs Olufumilayo Olotu, has given an assurance  that the much anticipated dredging of the Calabar Channel will begin in a few weeks.

    Olotu gave the assurance on Wednesday in Calabar when she led the management team of Calabar Port on a courtesy visit to the Obong of Calabar, Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu V.

    “I am happy to announce to you that the advert for the dredging of Calabar Port will be out in the next three weeks.

    “ It ia a real dredging not photo dredging. Very soon,  we will have container vessels; Roro vessels and other bigger vessels coming to the Calabar Port.

    “I pray that all of us will be alive to witness the return of full activities at the Calabar Port,” she said.

    She, however,  appealed to the traditional ruler  to prevail on the state government to review its tax regime as it concerns the port to enable  business thrive.

    “I appeal that we should all partner together with both the Obong and the state government to make operations at the port easier for investors.

    “Everything that is required to make the operations at the port smooth must be done.

    “ Let taxes be moderate and affordable to allow our business partners to operate successfully,” she said.

    The manager also told the monarch that a flat bottom vessel from Greece,  “MV Desert Ranger, ’’ was already in the port awaiting to be unveiled.

    Responding, the monarch  described the visit as very exciting, especially  as it brought the the news of the  impending commencement of the dredging of the port.

    He emphasised the importance of the port to the economy of Cross River and Nigeria at large.

    “The Calabar Port was meant to serve Cross River; Southeastern Nigeria and the North East.

    “  So all we have to do is to continually pray that the dredging will come to pass.

    “With the functionality of the port, we know that  economic activities in Calabar and the neighbouring states will come alive again,” he said.

    NAN

  • TINAPA management woos local businesses—MD

    TINAPA management woos local businesses—MD

    The Management of TINAPA Business Resort Calabar says it is encouraging local businesses to own shops and business outlets to boost activities in the resort.

    Mr Ayiba Ayiba, Managing Director of the Resort, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Calabar that this was part of measures to resuscitate business activities in the resort.

    “We are doing everything humanly possible to ensure that TINAPA works. We are trying to explore our local markets.

    “We are trying to encourage our local traders to come and rent our shops and do business with us.”

    He disclosed that there were 54 shops in the complex and not more than 10 were currently occupied.

    According to him, facilities at the TINAPA Water Point were also being resuscitated to make them functional, adding that a borehole had been put in place.

    He blamed the lack of activities at the point to poor water and epileptic power supply.

    “We have sunk a borehole and water tanks are being installed as alternative water supply to the pool. This will take care of regular water supply to the pool and keep the toilets clean.

    “Also, we are making efforts to provide alternative power source to ensure regular power supply to the pool, as this is one of the biggest challenges facing the resort.

    “So I am assuring tourists that by the first week of October our pool will be functioning normally,” Ayiba said.

    He also dismissed online reports which alleged that the Monorail linking TINAPA with Calabar International Conference Centre (CICC) had been paralysed due to stealing of its armoured cable by hoodlums.

    According to him, the monorail was in perfect condition, but was not functioning because there were no passengers to be transported.

    “The monorail is in perfect condition; nothing has happened to it but presently there is no patronage.

    “Whenever we have passengers we call the engineers to put necessary things in place for its use.

    “So the rumours making the rounds is baseless and untrue, ” he added.

    Ayiba stressed the need for the state government to re-constitute the TINAPA board to facilitate the current investment drive going on in the resort.

  • Niger Delta minister : giving roads to people, others not favours from govt

    Niger Delta minister : giving roads to people, others not favours from govt

    Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, in this interview with NICHOLAS KALU in Calabar, talks about how the Muhammadu Buhari administration is redefining the concept of development among other issues. Excerpts:

    What is your assessment of the development of the region?

    It is not a story to be told. It is what is to be seen and when you talk of development. What is your idea of development? There are certain things that are basic to life, which in the misconstruction of political mischief, people think is development, which is not. Making water available, giving roads to people, people going to school, providing health facilities are not development.

    They become development when people have been cheated enough to define those things as favours from government and so far you can understand our focus is to lift people from a no-level to the pedestal of development, which is to say providing these things and going beyond to get people to have capacities and skills to make choices for themselves, which is why emphasis is on human development, while infrastructural and physical development are rudimentary baselines for human survival.

    One, laying more than 30 per cent of budgetary provision to infrastructural development, which is a propelling foundation or platform, for other development issues to take place. Two, getting people involved, politics of inclusion. Today you hear we have a programme to get modular refineries, where communities would be shareholders.

    So ,they can decide their fate by the proceeds of what returns to them. So, if want to talk about development, vis-à-vis the administration of this era, you will realise that we are redefining development in the true perspective that affects humanity, and not by the deception of what people see as flashpoints, which vanish later and that has been the reason we never ever sustained any reasonable foreign reserves.

    We should also carry on what can sustain an economy for tomorrow. Are you not surprised to hear today that Nigeria’s yam is accredited for export? Are you not surprised that within two years, the LAKE Rice, which is a collaboration between Kebbi and Lagos states are providing millions of tons towards food security and self-sufficiency. Just few days back the Vice President had gone to commission fertiliser plants and today we have a minimum of 14 fertiliser plants within two years, revived.

    And we are embarking on a programme of linkage activities between the produce, the producing subsector and the manufacturing in the Niger Delta by an initiative that puts together all the funding establishments such as the development banks, private investors, state governments and the initiative drivers to be able to ensure that we revive the agric sector in the region and moribund industries as far as they meet the terms of our templates.

     

    The issue of abandoned projects in the region has been a recurring decimal. What is your plan towards this?

     

    The policy of government is to make sure that projects are completed and that is why when you hear mass capital estimates in the budget for various ministries, you find out that most of the money goes to what they call ongoing projects because we do not want them to be abandoned.

    Go to the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Ministry of Water Resources, you find out that all these ministries are concentrating on projects that had been established long ago, but not completed yet. If we want to play politics with the development of our people, we will put on new things, so people will clap hands for us.

    But all will be at the same stage of stagnation in future. But this we are doing because we are sincere. People may not appreciate because it is their level of understanding, but we know that in time to come, we will appreciate what foundations we are putting in place.

     

    The Odukpani-Ikot Ekpene-Aba Road contract has been awarded, but so far it appears nothing is being done about it…

     

    First, remember that before November 2016, people slept on that road for two, three days. While awarding the contract for the dualisation of the road, the government took immediate action by putting on a remedial repair, which today at least enables people to flow.

    That tells you that our programmes, according to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), define short term, medium term and long-term programmes. So, people would continue to enjoy progressive actions towards the final intended goods. That is one. Two, if you hear that a contract is signed, there are procedures in government for release of funds and so on.

    We have not done anything to deceive anybody and we are working very hard because of lack of funds to get many of these things funded by various programmes or financial acquisitions from concessioning to credits and so on and so forth.

    And these things are things that normally take negotiations for years, but we are able to fast track and get some within three months, six months and so on.

     

    Would defaulting contractors be punished?

     

    The intention is not to punish anybody because even if you put a man in prison, the project is not finished. The intention is to ensure that any money released to anybody receives value so that society can benefit.

     

    What is situation on the extension of  the East-West road to Calabar?

     

    Remember we became Ministers in November 2015, so effectively we have been Ministers for about 18 months or so. And if this period is long enough not to appreciate the action of government in correcting the misdeeds from design to contractual agreements and so on, then you should ask yourself, what 11 years mean when the project was started in 2006. And I can tell you why the segment of Oron to Calabar is delaying is that from the design to the contractual terms, suggests that project would never ever have been finished. One the design fell short of every social, economic and physical expectations of a sustainable project. Even when the environmental impact assessment showed that the design was faulty, they went ahead. Now we are a stage where we have corrected it and the Federal Executive Council has given approval, and the consultants are going to deliver within the next two months, the real design by which we can then go ahead to do the proper negotiation for the contractual agreement. It may interest you to know that the contract that was negotiated in naira was signed in dollars, which means if that project had been taken off the basis of that contract agreement, in an unstable exchange regime, forever there would be no value to that contract, and we must correct it.

     

     

     

  • Police boss urges traditional rulers to report crime

    Police boss urges traditional rulers to report crime

    Mr Hafiz Inuwa, the Commissioner of Police in  Cross River  has called on the traditional rulers in the state to report all cases of crime in their communities to the police.

    Inuwa made the call on Thursday in Calabar at the end of the one-week celebration and inauguration of the Police Community and Relations Committee ( PCRC ), Cross River chapter.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the celebration is `The Role of PCRC in Crime Prevention and Control’.

    According to Inuwa, the call becomes necessary because the traditional rulers are the closest to the people, adding that the police cannot fight crime alone without the support of members of the public.

    He said that since the traditional rulers were the custodians of the people and their culture, it was important for them to report all cases of criminality in their communities to the police.

    “The PCRC has been an integral part of the police for many years now; this has helped in maintaining peace and order in the society.

    “There is no society that exists without crime, but I must say that the crime rate in Cross River is relatively low.

    “I am happy that our traditional rulers are part of the PCRC. I want to charge them to report all cases of criminality in their communities.

    “If traditional rulers can effectively collaborate with the police in the area of information gathering and sharing, I think we will achieve maximum result in policing the state accordingly, ‘he said.

    Mr Mike Effiom, Chairman of PCRC in the state said that the committee, established in 1984, was an arm of the police force meant to foster community based policing.

    Effiom said that the duties of members of the PCRC were focused toward promoting the concept of community policing and enhancing public relations between the police and members of the public.

    “The PCRC does not only promote community based policing; we also protect lives and property, educate, inform and partner with well-meaning persons or groups to checkmate criminality in the state.

    “We will continue to mobilise and enlighten our members to be proactive in policing our various communities across the state, “he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that high point of the celebration was the award of excellence on crime prevention and management to Inuwa byPCRC.

  • Ritman varsity students visit slave trade site

    Students of Ritman University (RU) in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, broke down with emotions during their excursion to Old Residency and Slave History Museum in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, to see artefacts and simulations reminiscent of the slave trade era.

    The undergraduates, who were drawn from the Department of History and International Studies, took a guided tour round the museum which has become a tourist site. They were led by a lecturer, Mr. Kenneth Oforji, to the museum, which is located on the spot where captured slaves were shipped off to Europe during Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

    Mmenyene Silas and Grace Umanah, while reliving their experience, said the artefacts they saw  brought to their consciousness some of the historical incidents they were taught in class.

    The Old Residency, a colonial structure built in 1884, was the official house of British administrators from where they administered the Niger Coast territories. On exhibition were a dining table, ceramic plates, jugs and other items used by Lord Frederick Lugard and other colonial rulers.

    According to report, the Old Residency building was prefabricated in Britain and shipped to Calabar in 1884. Its ground floor served as headquarters of the British Protectorate that would eventually become the Southern part of British colony of Nigeria.

    During the slave trade era, Europeans shipped millions of Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to sell as slaves in Europe and America. Calabar used to be Britain’s busiest slave trading post. About one-third of Africans abducted before the abolition of slave trade in 1807 was shipped from the spot. When the colonial rulers left, Old Residency was declared a national monument, but turned to a museum in 1986.

    The students were shown a soap and bottles of alcoholic drinks, which were some of the items the white slave traders used to deceive the natives in exchange for their people. The slave traders were said to have been told that this soap would make them light-complexioned. The drinks, according to the tour guide, were given out as medicinal liquor but made the natives intoxicated enough to give in to the slave bargain.

    The students were also shown chains used on slaves as well as pictures of anti-slave trade fighters, including William Wilberforce, Granville Sharp and John Clarkson. There were also audios and video recordings of slave transactions complete with pathetic sounds of crying and lamenting slaves who were being branded with hot irons for identification as they were snatched from their loved ones.

    Other artefacts seen at the museum include items from ancient Nok, Benin, Igbo Ukwu, Calabar and Ife cultures. The students were also shown a spinning wheel and boat in which the late Scottish missionary, Mary Slessor – the woman credited to have stopped the killing of twins – was brought back to Calabar.

  • Calabar tank farm fire: Positive side of tragedy

    Tragedy, like war is what nobody prays for. Discussing or mere talking about it is even tough for some as they feel awful or scared at the mention of it. However, the two are realities of life. They happen whether one likes it or not.  Life, itself is even described as a war. It is a thing we live with, day in day out.

    Human beings encounter tragedies or wars in different ways. For some, it is nagging domestic issues while in extreme cases, humans are faced with loss of precious ones and invaluable materials. Nobody prepares for it and none could predict its consequences. No matter how careful, one’s level of safety and security consciousness notwithstanding, they just happen, leaving behind tales of woes, sadness and catastrophes.

    For LINC Tank Farm Limited, Calabar, it was a tragedy too many on July 16, when its farm went up in flames as a result of an oil spillage. The inferno which occurred at about 3.40am claimed lives including those of a key worker of the farm, two in the opposite company, DOZZY Oil and Gas Tank Farm and some security personnel. The neighbouring community also shared from the tragedy as the inferno which erupted while people were scooping petrol (PMS) killed a number of the villagers. In addition, properties worth millions of Naira were also destroyed in LINC, DOZZY and other adjacent organizations. The environment was not spared too, as it suffered debilitating damages; the flora and fauna seriously hit.

    Three weeks after this sad incident, the whole of  Calabar Free Trade Zone is still in gloom as noticed when the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (downstream) paid an on the spot assessment to the farms last Thursday. From the entrance of the CFTZ to the LINC Farm, the adverse effects of the disaster were still palpable.

    Right inside the farm, one can only pity and empathize with the organization, as its Chief Executive Officer, Chief Patrick Ifeanyi Oramah conducted the team round the erstwhile functional and robust depot now characterized with charred structures, burnt facilities and dim looking workers. It was a pitiable sight that left most of the legislators feeling very concerned.

    Chief Oramah explained to the lawmakers that he was traveling out of the country when he got the most destabilizing call in his life that an oil spillage in their tank farm ignited and resulted in loss of lives.

    “The tragedy” Chief Oramah said “ensued as consequence of spillage of petroleum (PMS) into the drains while it was being pumped from Dozzy Jetty, through pumps run via our farm, to Dozzy Depot, another tank farm located opposite us. The spilled petroleum later got ignited while people were scooping it outside our premises”.  He told the lawmakers that his company did not have any product in any of its tanks as at the time of the incident as the tanks had remained empty since January, the last time they sold petroleum products at the depot.

    Oramah however became emotional as he revealed to the legislators that his company was expecting delivery of products to the tank farm the week the unfortunate incident occurred declaring that the incident was a terrible calamity for them and that they were deeply saddened.

    “LINC Nigeria Limited is terribly saddened over this disaster, particularly, the loss of human lives. We intensely commiserate with the families of the bereaved and the entire Esuk Utan Community. Our heartfelt sympathies go to DOZZY Tank Farm Limited and all our neighbours over these monumental losses” Chief Oramah said in an emotion laden voice.

    He however disclosed to the visiting legislators that the management of Calabar Export Free Zone handled the tragedy with deft and utmost sense of responsibility as he also praised the Fire Service, Nigeria Police and other security and safety agencies for their promptness and diligence in combating the fire.

    The instantaneous display of concern and conscientiousness by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and its regulatory agency, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to the disaster was also commended before the legislators. Oramah explained that that LINC has always been in total compliance with safety and security measures in and around its premises and in all its operations. He however added that Investigations were on- going and that his company was cooperating fully with the various agencies.

    Done with the briefings, the chairman of the committee on Petroleum (downstream), Honourable Joseph Akinlaja Iranola condoled the management of LINC, DOZZY, and the entire community over the unfortunate incident.

    Akinlaja said the committee was impressed with the effective management of the disaster by the Export Free Zone, the security and safety agencies of Cross River State and the federal government. He said with such exhibition of effectiveness in combating this tragedy, Nigeria was genuinely making progress in disaster management.

    The chairman assured that the National Assembly would continue to see to the protection and safety of lives and property of citizens in its legislative functions.

    As tragic as the incident was, it however provided some positives as narrated by the Chief Executive Officer of LINC, Chief Patrick Ifeanyi Oramah: the display of capacity, competence and care by all the concerned authorities and agencies of government, that our institutions are truly living up to their responsibilities in the spirit of change. This comes with the hope that the consequences of this ugly incident would not matter to LINC, all the organizations and individuals affected in no time.

     

    • Olaosebikan writes through midascommunications@gmail.com

  • ‘Nine killed in Calabar tank farm fire’

    At least 13 persons were feared killed in a tank farm fire at the Calabar Free Zone Enterprise (FZE) in Cross River State yesterday.

    Several others sustained severe injuries and were taken to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH).

    The Calabar FZE in Esuk Utan Community is host to several tank farms.

    The fire was due to illegal activities in one of the tank farms, The Nation gathered.

    It was learnt that a vessel was supplying Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, to two of the tank farms around 2am.

    The ship, which was on the river nearby was supplying the product through pipes that passed through the premises of both tank farms. The distance between the ship and the tank farm is about a kilometre.

    While supplying was going on, a staff of one of the farms, identified as Sunny, who it was gathered was not on duty that night, opened the pipes inside their premises to siphon petrol.

    It was believed he was working with others and had been successful for a while until the pressure from where he was siphoning from knocked him down. It could not be ascertained what caused this. He died on the spot.

    The petrol filled the premises and flowed through gutters back into the river and into the Esuk Utan community, the host community. Due to the strong fumes, some members of the community woke up to realise that petrol was flowing through their gutters and decided to scoop the product for themselves. A fire was ignited and killed six of them.

    The Nation learnt that the fire followed the petrol through the gutters back to the vessel. The men on board managed to stop the fire from engulfing the vessel, using sophisticated fire-fighting equipment.

    However, a fishing settlement on the waterfront nearby was not so lucky. The settlement, which also serves as a fish market, was razed and seven people, who lived there, died, according to eyewitnesses. Several wooden canoes and engine boats were caught in the inferno.

    Three vessels in the adjoining Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) were also affected by the fire.

    A employee of one of the tank farms, who pleaded for anonymity, said: “Almost 30 people that we have been able to confirm have died. So many have severe injuries and have been rushed to the hospital. I saw someone whose entire legs had melted in the fire. It was only his bones that were sticking out. I do not know if he would survive. It was very horrible. There was fire everywhere. Nobody knew where they would run to. Many other companies in this vicinity and even inside the NPA have had one equipment or the other affected by the fire. The truth is that they were doing an illegal business there; that is why there was no safety measure. In fact, there was no safety measure at all that is why the situation got out of hand. If it was a normal operation, I believe it could have been contained easily. It is something they have been doing all the time, but today was bad luck for them.

    ”Despite what has happened, I can say it is just fortunate that the tank farms themselves did not blow up, thanks to the sophisticated fire-fighting equipment they have here, because the impact would have been like that of an atomic bomb. If that had happened, there is no community around us that would not have been severely affected.”

    Commissioner of Police Hafiz Inuwa confirmed the deaths. He said his men were on ground when the fire was raging and helped put out the fire as well as cordoned the area so hoodlums would not take advantage of the situation to loot.

    Commissioner for Petroleum Resources Mr Itaya Nyong, who was at the scene of the incident, confirmed the fire was as a result of the activities of criminal elements who were siphoning petrol from the tank farm.

    He said they were colluding with some security officials to carry out the nefarious act.  He added that an investigation would be launched into the matter and culprits brought to book.

    Inuwa  was quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as saying:  “Up until now, nobody has come out to tell us that this is what caused the fire outbreak. We have gone round, we have done what we can do but investigation will later reveal what actually led to the explosion.

    “For now, nine people are confirmed dead and many others who sustained different burns are currently receiving treatment in one of the hospitals around town.’’

  • Police confirm nine dead in Calabar tank farm explosion

    Police confirm nine dead in Calabar tank farm explosion

    The Cross River Police Command has confirmed that nine people died in a fire outbreak that occurred at Linc Oil and Gas tank farm at around on Sunday morning.

    Mr Hafiz Inuwa, the State Commissioner of police, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the scene of the event, confirmed  the figure.

    Inuwa added that several other persons, who sustained injuries were currently being treated in one of the hospitals in Calabar.

    According to him, the manager of the depot is yet to brief the police on what led to the explosion.

    “Up until now, nobody has come out to tell us that this is what caused the fire outbreak.

    “We have gone round, we have done what we can do but investigation will later reveal what actually led to the explosion.

    “For now, nine people are confirmed dead and many others who sustained different burns are currently receiving treatment in one of the hospitals around town’’, he said.

    NAN reports that officials from the Cross State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), were on ground to assess the extent of damages caused by the explosion.

    A NAN correspondent who went round the depot, reports that the fire outbreak also affected the high tension cable which connected  depot’s electricity  transformer, while two vehicles and other important equipment were also burnt to ashes.

    The depot Manager  refused to speak with newsmen, saying that he was not authorised to speak at the moment.

    But, a staff of the depot, who spoke with NAN under the condition of anonymity, said that the fire outbreak occurred when staff of the depot where discharging out the old products in the tanks to fill in the new consignment.

    “As we speak right now, the vessel that brought in our new product is just by the port here. Some of our staff were discharging the old product from the tank with a view to bring in the new one when the fire outbreak occurred,” he said.