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The Delta State
government yesterday asked residents not to embark on panic buying of
fuel as a result of the fire incident at the NNPC loading depot in
Warri.

The Commissioner
for Oil and Gas, David Ekereokosu while speaking to journalists
yesterday at the scene of the NNPC Depot explosion said that there was
no cause for alarm over the incident, saying he had been assured by the
management of the Petroleum Pipelines Marketing Company (PPMC) that
supply of fuel will not be affected.

The Commissioner
who was conducted round the scene by Sunday O. Edegbo, the Depot
Manager, PPMC and Joseph E. Edeamrere, Community Relations Officer,
PPMC said: “We want to urge all Deltans not to panic, what has
happened, for now; nobody can tell what caused the fire incident. But
investigations are on-going; it will be hasty on the part of anybody to
jump to conclusion as to what caused the fire. For now, we want to
assure Deltans that very soon the depot will bounce back to full
operation and there should be no panic buying.

Sufficient products

“There is
sufficient product to go round for all those who want to get the
product, so the Delta State government calls on all Deltans not to be
discouraged over what has happened. Governor Uduaghan is aware of what
has happened and that is why he has sent this delegation to PPMC to
ascertain what has happened.” He expressed gratitude to God that the
fire incident did not extend beyond the scene just as he thanked all
Deltans, including fire services for their efforts in ensuring that the
fire was put off timely.

Explaining the
incident to the commissioner, the PPMC Depot Manager, Mr Edegbo said:
“What I will just say briefly is that, I was in the office yesterday
when we heard a large explosion. We evacuated our staff; the whole
place was engulfed with fire. We are still investigating the actual
cause; we have not been able to establish what caused the fire
incident. Committees have been set up and we are trying to get back to
operation as soon as possible.

“I want to assure
the public that there is no need to panic for now because we are
working for early resumption of our operations.” It was observed
yesterday that the loading depot that used to be busy was empty and the
four petroleum tankers razed at the scene were yet to be removed.