Lagos – The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) on Thursday called on the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC ) to urgently repair the burst pipes at Diamond Housing Estate, Isheri, Lagos to avert a fire disaster.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, LASEPA boss, Mr Shabi Adebola urged the NNPC to clean up the extensive damage caused by the oil spillage in the area.

“The oil spillage at Diamond Estate and its environs has been on for some years due to the activity of vandals and rupture of the NNPC pipes.

“Though some cleanup exercise was carried out in the past, more still need to be done to make the area safe from imminent disaster,” said the LASEPA boss.

Adebola said wells and streams in the area have been polluted and stressed the need to mop up oil from the ground in the area to avert disaster.

He said stakeholders have started brainstorming on how to avert disaster, adding that LASEPA has commenced an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to determine the extent of the damage.

He appealed to the Federal Government to act fast to stop the spillage as well as end the activity of vandals scooping fuel from the bursts.

“Lagos state government is worried at the spread of the spillage towards the main campus of the Lagos State University (LASU).

“Being a highly-populated area with high number of youths, we may find it difficult to stop people from scooping the fuel if it spreads to their domain.

“Federal government should relocate and compensate the residents; the NNPC should be more responsive because that area is a disaster area,” Adebola said.

He called on residents to be safety conscious, assuring them that the state was working towards finding a permanent solution to the problem.

He disclosed that no fewer than 10 companies were sanctioned by LASEPA in 2010 for falling to comply with environmental laws, adding that the agency would intensify efforts to ensure more compliance to make Lagos State safer in 2011.

He identified inadequate number of laboratories for testing samples and lack of vehicles as some of the challenges facing the agency and appealed to government and corporate bodies to come to its aid. (NAN)