The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Hon. Mahama Ayariga has admitted that ‘dereliction of duty’ by relevant institutions is largely to account for the operation of unlicensed filling stations for years.

The Minister has in two days caused the closure of eight fuel stations within the Accra Metropolis in the wake of the floods and fire explosion at the GOIL filling station at Kwame Nkrumah circle.

Asked why it has taken so long for these closures to be undertaken, he said it was a case of people in authority having shirked their responsibilities with the excuse of political pressure whenever they try to insist on the right thing being done.

He admits that there are over 3400 fuel stations and counting all over the country and he would not be able to visit all these stations but has formed a task force that would carry on with the inspection and possible closures if need be.

“I entreat all regional Ministers and District and Municipal Chief Executives to liaise with especially the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and allied institutions to visit fuel stations under their jurisdictions to continue with what we have started,” he said.

The Minister charged that there must be a sustained effort to cover as many fuel stations as possible because safety of these fuel stations is a collective responsibility as much as we all make use of them either as motorists or passengers.

In a related development, Mr. Yaw Agyemang – Duah, the Industry Coordinator of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs) has appealed to members of the public to be measured in the way they speak on issues affecting the operation of fuel stations, asking that the public should patiently await the report from the fire explosion.

According to him, operators of these stations are Ghanaians who have made huge investments in the sale of petroleum products and should be treated as such, he however expressed the sympathies of the AOMCs to the loss of last Wednesday.

Both men were speaking on Asempa FM's news analysis program, Ekosii sen.