The proliferation of the sale of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) products by mediocre has seriously been warned against because of its volatile implications to lives and property.
This warning was made by Mr. Basil Ogbuanu, the National President of Nigeria Association of LPG Marketers (NALPGM) at an event recently in Lagos.
The NALPGM boss said that there are a lot of mediocres in the industry therefore advocates for proper training and know-how before anyone would want to be an LPG marketer.
According to him, “LPG is highly inflammable, so it requires someone who knows what it is to properly handle it, not someone who is selling provision today and jumps into the sale of LPG tomorrow because a friend told him that there is money there. If he is not adequately trained, he poses a danger to himself and those of his immediate surroundings.
He spoke out forcefully against the issue of not obtaining licence from Directorate of Petroleum Resourced (DPR) before starting operation and said that his association will make sure that offenders face adequate sanctions.
In a similar development, the National secretary of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers Association of Nigeria (LPGARN) Mr. Ayobami Olawure said that his association is doing their best to see that all his members get licensed because they at the last rung of the ladder seem to bear the brunt of the problems of the industry.
According to him, “It is often difficult to call people to order especially when they think that they are owners of their businesses, but that does not mean that retailers are not organised, of course there are acts of indiscipline here and there, it is not limited to retailers alone, but spreads across the world but we are doing our best to control that”.
In his words “This year alone, we have submitted more than 200 licences to DPR and about 190 has been approved”.
He further stated that his association organises trainings, seminars and workshops to keep the members abreast of latest developments and information on safety control and DPR guidelines.
Mr. Olawure said that plant owners also contribute to the problem by knowingly selling products to unlicensed persons because they don’t want to lose them as customers. He therefore beckons on DPR to step up sanctions against offenders because they as an association has no power to prosecute anyone.
