Over five hundred residents of Community 11 in Tema have come in their numbers to demonstrate against the siting of fuel stations close to the Assembly Member’s residence.
Clad in red and black attires, the aggrieved residents expressed their anger amidst drumming and dancing to gospel Jama songs as a sign of peaceful protest.
They carried placards with the inscription ‘no to this time bomb of a fuel station, the greatest threat to our community is this fuel station, NPA withdraw this license now. Community 11 cannot turn to Circle, Labadi or Atomic Junction, the filing stations must go, Mr President our children are at risk, save our community, NPA respect and listen to resident, EPA we owe our lives, President come to our community among others.
According to the concerned residents of Communities 16/17 Baatsona and Lashibi, they want the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to relocate the two fuel stations to save any future disaster.
The residents said despite several petitions to authorities such as EPA, NPA and Community 11 Police over the siting of the stations in the community, they ignored their cries and looked on for construction works to continue at night.
They are, therefore threatening to take the law into their hands if authorities are unable to take the necessary action within the shortest possible time, claiming several efforts have been made through various stakeholders to get the filling station relocated, but all to no avail.
Their renewed protest is due to the fuel stations’ explosions that occurred at Atomic Junction and Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, in which several lives were lost and some injured.
The Assembly Man for Community 11, Gyatabu Electoral Area Hon Felix Sobreh addressing the media on Friday, said that their lives are under threat as a result of past explosions.
Their renewed protest comes on the back of the fuel stations’ explosions that occurred at Atomic Junction and Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, in which several lives were lost and some injured.
Mr Ishmael Kofi Gantorlogah who is the youth leader also stated that We should not wait for another disaster to happen for ministers and public officials to go round hospitals and homes in the name of sympathising with victims,” he said.
The Welfare Chairman for the Community 11, Mr Samuel Owusu Akyim also said they will leave no stone unturned to see putting up such a facility at a residential area will not see the light of the day.
