Following the aftermath of the gas explosion which claimed a life in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital last Saturday, the Federal Government has said it would stop granting licences to gas companies with no capacity to build pipelines for gas distribution.

This was communicated by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), EKPERIKPE EKPO, when he visited Abeokuta for an on-the-spot assessment of last Saturday’s Compressed Natural Gas explosion at Ita Oshin.

According to him, the development became imperative to discourage the transportation of compressed natural gas through the roads.

While saying the country must transit from fossil fuel to CNG, EKPO revealed that he had directed the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, FAROUK AHMED, not to issue licenses to anyone who could not pipe CNG to the end users.

The gas minister emphasised, that there was the need to stop virtual gas transportation, saying the Federal Government was putting efforts in top gear to build pipelines for seamless transmission of CNG.

According to him, this would prevent explosions on the road, while saving lives and property.