Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila has expressed concerns that establishment of tank farms inside residential areas poses grave dangers to the lives of citizens.
The Speaker while Inaugurating an ad-hoc committee on the need to relocate tank farms in residential areas of Ijegun, Kirikiri and other areas, on Wednesday said the House has resolved to find out how the tank farms found their ways into residential areas in the first place.
“Tank farms across the country serve an essential function. They are stores of economic value and a critical part of the energy distribution infrastructure in the country. However, we cannot continue to ignore the undeniable fact that the location of many of these tank farms in places of residence or close to areas of high traffic represents a clear and present risk to the people that live and work in those places.
“Therefore, the House of Representatives has resolved to investigate how these tank farms came to be in these places, and more importantly, what needs to be done about them to prevent further disaster from occurring on our watch.
“The legislative function is often limited in the public mind to lawmaking. Whereas, it is our advocacy in the public interest that usually has a more immediate impact on the welfare of the people we serve.
“This is one of those instances where we have a responsibility first to speak, and then to follow through with substantive action to prevent further recurrence of catastrophic events that cost lives, destroy livelihoods and decimate the value of assets accumulated over time through hard effort”, the speaker said.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Sergius Ogun, disclosed that the committee was born out of the need to ensure safety of lives and properties which is one of the primary responsibilities of the government.
“The committee will commence an investigative hearing and I urge all stakeholders to contribute with facts and figures to achieve this task”, he stated.
