The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Resources Authority, NMDPRA, Eket Field Office, has sealed 10 Liquified Petroleum Gas, LPG, retail outlets in Akwa Ibom for various offences.
The state Coordinator of NMDPRA, Ikechukwu Eseka, who made this disclosure at the end of a surveillance operation in Uyo on Wednesday, said that the LPG retail outlets were sealed in Uyo metropolis.
Eseka stated that the outlets were operating without licence, while some of them were not registered with NMDPRA and indulge in unsafe practices.
According to him, several meetings were held with union leaders but the outlets defied the regulator.
He explained that some of the LPG decanter outlet operators convert high pressure 50 kg cylinders and turn them upside down to refill into smaller cylinders in residential buildings, which is very wrong.
The coordinator condemned the practice of some other LPG retailers operating under high tension wires, adding that the regulator is committed to ensuring lives and property are protected.
Eseka advised the LPG operators to go to NMDPRA Eket Field Office to properly register their businesses and ensure that they met other operational requirements.
He said the authority, being a business enabler, has three licence categories for LPG retail activities, namely: LPG Plant licence, LPG Add-on in retail outlets and Category D retailers where operators are licenced for cylinder exchange and not decanting.
He said the authority was collaborating with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and Federal Fire Service in the state to provide the right environment for LPG retail business to thrive.
He urged residents to report perceived illegal activity by LPG outlets to NMDPRA for further action.