Anxiety is rising in Asaba, the Delta State capital, as the leadership of Infant Jesus Educational Academy and inhabitants of Imade Osazee Street, Infant Jesus Road, have sounded the alarm over the building of an alleged illegal Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) facility in their area, warning that it represents a serious danger to lives, especially those of hundreds of schoolchildren.
In a petition written to Governor Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, the residents and school administrators cautioned that the LPG site, reportedly being erected behind an A.A. Rano filling station, is perilously close to homes and the Infant Jesus Educational Academy, which accommodates more than 500 pupils in its boarding facilities.
It was earlier reported that officials of the Delta State Ministry of Oil and Gas had served a “stop work” notice on the construction site amid increasing safety worries and doubts over regulatory compliance at both the filling station and the gas plant.
The petition, dated January 19, 2026, and submitted through their legal representatives, P.J. Eleweke and Partners, was formally received by the Governor’s Office in Asaba.
According to the petitioners, the location of the LPG plant violates established safety regulations, including compulsory setback requirements.
They alleged that the gas facility is being built less than five metres from residential bedrooms in a densely populated zone, without the required approvals.
They further claimed that discoveries from the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) showed that the LPG plant had been “smuggled” into the construction of a petrol station without official clearance from the appropriate regulatory bodies.
The residents warned that a gas blast in such a place would be disastrous, referring to the 2025 Agbor gas explosion, whose deaths, they said, are still vivid in public memory.
“This is a ticking time bomb,” the petition stated, stressing that any explosion would not only threaten students and residents but could lead to widespread loss of life and property.
The petitioners therefore appealed to Governor Oborevwori to swiftly step in by directing a full investigation and enforcing a suspension of the construction of the alleged illegal LPG facility to prevent what they described as an avoidable disaster.
