Oscarline Onwuemenyi
31 January 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has assured motorists and other consumers of petroleum products in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Niger and Nassarawa states and other parts of the country that the fire incident which affected a truck at the Suleja Depot at about yesterday would not affect adequate supply of petroleum products in the areas.
Nigeria Pipeline and Storage Company, NPSC, Managing Director, Barrister Luke Anele, said a team of NNPC and Niger State Fire Service officials rapidly put off the fire, affirming that no depot equipment was damaged during the inferno.
The truck was burnt at the sump pit of the Suleja Depot while evacuating mixed products meant to be decanted to the slop tank.
The Niger State Fire Service confirmed the early morning fire outbreak at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation depot in Suleja, Niger State.
Mohammad Kwale, the officer-in-charge of the service in Suleja, told our correspondent on Sunday that the outbreak affected the loading section in the depot.
Kwale told reporters that, “The outbreak started around 4:30 am when we were called. By 5 am, we had put out the flames. An articulated vehicle was burnt while the loading canopy and some pipes were damaged. No life was, however, lost in the incidence.”
A resident of Maje, Malam Garba Magaji, a settlement a few metres away from the depot, told NAN that a loud explosion woke up the residents this morning, adding that they later understood it was from the depot.
Magaji said: “The explosion was like a bomb. But a colleague of mine later informed me that it was the tyre of an articulated vehicle that bust at the loading bay. The depot has been sealed and fire service officials and the road safety are at the scene.”
Barrister Anele clarified that the fire incident did not affect the loading section of the depot, assuring that normal loading, bridging and dispatch of products have continued.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru has been fully briefed on the incident.
“Facilities in the depots are in good shape,” the NPSC Managing Director, Anele, said.
NNPC assures the public of adequate sufficiency in products, urging motorists and other consumers not to engage in panic buying.
NPSC is a subsidiary of NNPC which manages pipelines, depots and pump stations among others across the federation.