UPSA students threaten to force closure of fuel station near school

Student leaders at the University of Professional Studies Accra, have issued a threat to close down a fuel station that has been sited close to the school.
According to the students, the SEL fuel station posed great danger as it was too close to facilities being used by students.

“We the Students’ Representative Council of the UPSA, are unequivocally protesting against the siting and operation of the fuel station in question, which is too close to the University community,” a statement from the study body said.

“…We are sending this strong signal today that if measures are not taken to close down the fuel station, the leadership will organize the students to picket at the EPA, NPA and the La-Nkwantanan Madina Municipality.

We will also embark on several demonstrations to register our protests until the various authorities at the [Environmental Protection Agency] and [National Petroleum Authority] take the necessary action to save our lives. We may be forced to defend ourselves by closing down the fuel station on our own”, the statement added.

Fears about the siting of fuel stations have risen following an explosion at a gas station near the Trade Fair Centre in December 2016. That explosion led to the death of over 10 people and dozen others injured.

On June 3, 2015, there was also an explosion at a fuel station at Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, and together with the day’s flooding led to the death of 150 people.
Despite many such explosions in the past, state institutions such as the EPA have continued to pay lip service to address the concerns of residents in neighbourhoods where fuel stations have been sited close to homes.