Siting of petrol station in residential estate, a ticking time bomb – Akure residents protest …Urge Gov. Aiyedatiwa to order revocation of approval. By Lai Gidado

Siting of petrol station in residential estate, a ticking time bomb – Akure residents protest

…Urge Gov. Aiyedatiwa to order revocation of approval

Residents of Akure, the Ondo State capital, have protested the siting of a petrol station inside the State Residential Estate along Ilesha Road, describing it as a ticking time bomb.

The residents, under the umbrella of Club 20 Residents’ Association, have petitioned the Ondo State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, calling for the immediate withdrawal of the approval granted to Areytom Int’l Nigeria Limited for the project.

In a letter signed by their lawyer, Mr. Femi Emmanuel Emodamori, the residents warned that locating a filling station in the densely populated estate posed grave health and safety risks.

They noted that the approved site sits barely seven metres from the community borehole, the estate’s only source of water and directly opposite Telnet International School, where children cross daily.

“The risk of water contamination, increased traffic endangering schoolchildren, exposure to toxic fumes and potential fire outbreaks make the filling station a looming disaster,” the petition read.

The association recalled that in 2009, a similar approval granted to Telthetic Petroleum Company Limited for another filling station within the same estate was withdrawn by the Ministry after residents raised alarm, with the government then admitting that the area was strictly designated for residential use.

“To our shock, the Ministry has now granted fresh approval for the same kind of project, despite earlier acknowledging the dangers and illegality,” the petition noted, adding that excavation work for underground tanks had already commenced.

The residents argued that the project violated the Ondo State Urban and Regional Planning Law (2010), the Building and Sub-Division Regulations (1984) and the National Urban Development Policy.

Quoting Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the petition stressed that the security and welfare of citizens remain the primary duty of government, urging Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa to act swiftly in the interest of public safety.

They further threatened legal action if the approval was not revoked.