In what seems to be a setback to the efforts towards encouraging Nigerians to use CNG-Powered vehicles, an explosion went off at a NIPCO filling station in Benin City on Thursday. From details gathered from a widely-circulated video on X (formerly Twitter), eyewitnesses and bystanders pointed out that the explosion was as a result of leakage from a locally-fabricated gas cylinder unapproved by the PCNG-i.
From what was gathered from the video and eyewitnesses therein, no lives were lost. However, a few persons sustained various degrees of injuries and were taken away to receive medical attention.
In response, the PCNG-i swiftly commiserated with the victims of the incident via X and noted the management of NIPCO, the Police and regulatory authorities are jointly involved in an investigation. The body seized the opportunity to inform the public on the soon-to-be-launched Vehicle Monitoring System in collaboration with partners like the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).
Our readers would recall we detailed a few but not all the hurdles before CNG adoption in Nigeria. The Benin City incident is unfortunately expected to dampen the enthusiasm towards CNG, at least in the short term.
