Oscarline Onwuemenyi
14 February 2018, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The House of Representatives on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to intensify effort toward improving electricity supply in the country to reduce usage of power generators in homes.
This was the sequel to a motion by Rep. Emmanuel Akpan on the “need to address recurring cases of deaths caused by generator fumes in Nigeria.”
Moving the motion, Akpan explained that over the years, there had been reported cases of deaths allegedly caused by generator fumes, often resulting in the killing of family members.
Akpan recalled an incident which occurred on June 30, 2017, in Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt, where a couple and four children were suffocated to death by generator fumes in their apartment.
According to him, many cases of deaths resulting from generator fumes were not reported in spite an alarming increase in deaths arising from the use of the generating sets.
He decried what he described as “failure” of Federal Government to take adequate steps toward addressing the issue in spite of increasing number of deaths associated with generators.
In his contribution, Rep. Segun Adekola said that the chemical from the generator fumes was a silent killer which had sent many people to graves early.
“This chemical is not good for the human health. The Federal Government should go on total sensitisation through the media to enable the people to know the dangers of the chemical. The National Orientation Agency should take the challenge,” he said.
The motion was unanimously adopted when it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara.
The House, therefore, urged the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), National Electricity Management and Services Agency (NEMSA), Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) and Ministry of Information to jointly carry out public enlightenment on safe use of power generators.
The lawmakers also mandated the House Committee on Power and Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance with the resolution and report back within six weeks.
