Goods worth millions destroyed as fire razes stored adulterated fuel in Port Harcourt

Fire has razed goods worth millions of naira at Abonnema Wharf in Port Harcourt City Council of Rivers State.

It was gathered that the fire gutted around a facility owned by Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC.

It was learned that the fire which started late Friday evening was at a facility where petroleum product, believed to have been refined illegally, was stored.

The State Commissioner for Special Duties, Emeka Onowu, who confirmed the incident disclosed that the Attorney General of the state had called his attention to the development.

Onowu said: “Just look at the fire incident going on here. It will tell you that something is fishy. Look at the more batch (shanties) everywhere.

“If the government comes to demolish it, people will start saying a governor is a wicked man. This is a tank farm and an explosion came.

“Where you have a tank farm, do you expect people to be cooking or lighting fire around that area? These are the causes of this fire because either they are using gas, firewood, or light.

“But this is not the first time that this first, second, or third time this is happening here. But this is the worst. And by Monday I don’t think we are going to have any shanty here again.”

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Port Harcourt City, Allwell Ihunda, said he had made efforts to reach out to the management of SPDC to act on putting off the fire but to no avail.

Ihunda said: “Just a couple of minutes ago I was called that there is a fire outbreak on Abonnema wharf road in Rumuwoji community in port Harcourt city LGA. On arrival, I discovered that the men of the fire service were already on the ground to arrest the fire.

“And when we investigated what led to the fire I was told that the fire started as a result of stored adulterated petroleum products within illegal structures situated on the road to tank farms around the area.

“Unfortunately, the company closed to this place is Shell Petroleum Development Company(SPDC) and I am surprised that they have not responded.

“I have been trying to see if I can get in contact with them, to find out really why they have not responded taking into consideration that they have a facility just close to where the fire incident happened.”

Ihunda, however, threatened to demolish the illegal structures on the road to the wharf soon.