The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Warri Zonal Office has sealed 10 gas plants and 40 gas retail shops over various offences in Delta.
The Manager, Gas Division, Warri, Engr. Victor Ohwodiasa, led a surveillance team of the regulatory agency on the routine exercise on behalf of the Operations Controller, DPR, Warri, Mr Antai Asuquo.
Addressing newsmen recently, Asuquo said the gas plants and shops were sealed between in Asaba, Agbor and its environs.
He said eight of the gas plants were shut down for operating illegally, while the other two plants were sealed for inadequate safety facilities.
He said the gas shops were closed over offences bordering on operating without valid licenses, operating in an unsafe environment and decamping from bigger cylinder to smaller cylinders.
Beyond sanctioning, Asuquo said the regulatory agency also used the opportunity to sensitise members of the public on things they needed to know about gas.
“DPR will continue to monitor gas plants and gas retail outlets with a view to ensuring that they operate at best and safest manner as possible, we want to ensure that the environment they cite their gas plants are conducive.
“The federal government says gas utilisation, penetration and commercialisation should be encouraged and it is trying to drive the policy. In driving the policy, DPR being the regulator must ensure that whatever is being done in that respect is done safely and by applying international best practices.
“This is why we would continue to visit gas plants, retail outlets and do environmental assessment, to check the safety concerns in those places and ensure that the operators are properly trained to handle gas being a very volatile substance.
“If you are doing business, you should not endanger people’s lives and properties, we will not tolerate that,” he said.
Asuquo, said the DPR would continue to sustain the surveillance to ensure that gas and LPG were properly handled in the safest manner.
He, however, said the level of compliance was on the increase hoping that the development would be sustained.
“The level of compliance has increased tremendously; we now carry out surveillance on weekly basis as against monthly because of what is happening in the country.
“The awareness is high, aside looking at their facilities, we equally use the opportunity to call people around the environment, market places and motor parks and do sensitisation.
“We tell them what they need to know about gas and also encouraged them to notify us whenever they see people handling gas in an unsafe manner,” he said.
Farmcrowdy Acquires Firm to Boost Livestock Production
Farmcrowdy has acquired Best Foods (L&P) to boost its livestock production in Nigeria.
Farmcrowdy, in a statement added that the acquisition would see it own majority stakes in Best Foods L&P Limited, including its assets, team and customer contracts to supply meat across Nigeria.
According to reports Lagos alone consumes 6,000 cattles every day while Nigeria processes over 1.2 billion chickens annually.
“In this light, the acquisition of Best Foods L&P Limited will provide Farmcrowdy the opportunity to continue to grow its Livestock value chain with an improved process for livestock production and processing to reach the desired high standards fit for local consumption and export were necessary,” the statement added.
Farmcrowdy said the expansion of the business would also enable it become the most preferred source of processed livestock across Nigeria starting from Lagos, stressing that the expanded business will serve over 50 meat markets (including beef and poultry) across the south-western zone in Nigeria and would manage over 100 consumer endpoints.
“Best Foods offers an exciting opportunity for Farmcrowdy to strengthen and expand its service offering in livestock production, processing, and supply.
“With a range of high profile clients, the acquisition supports Farmcrowdy’s strategy to lead the market and meet the requirements necessary to process approximately 45 cattle every day for meat consumption in Lagos,” Farmcrowdy said.
Commenting on the deal, the Founder of Best Foods, Emmanuel Ijewere, said, “This deal with Farmcrowdy is a welcome development for us as it provides a major growth opportunity for both businesses. We are excited about the many possibilities.”
The Founder & CEO of Farmcrowdy, Onyeka Akumah, said, “Farmcrowdy is Nigeria’s leading Agtech company using technology to change the way people invest in Agriculture then grow the food they eat. “Today, this acquisition of Best Foods L&P Limited is a major milestone for the entire team knowing that we only launched Farmcrowdy 3 years ago with a bunch of 20 and 30-year-olds.
“I grew up learning about the impact Best Foods and Mr. Ijewere had in the Agriculture space in Nigeria and we are absolutely delighted to welcome him to the Board of Farmcrowdy as we continue to grow this space together”.
He added: “Expect more collaborations and deals like this to grow the Agriculture sector but more importantly for us in Farmcrowdy, we are happy to now make plans to launch our Farmcrowdy meat hubs where every day people can sponsor livestock farms on Farmcrowdy, we manage the farms until harvest and finally, same people can now order for the meat they sponsored at our meat hubs for consumption. We are completing the full-cycle for livestock on our platform.”
Source: THISDAY
