The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) has called on the Lagos State? Government to partner with the Ogun State Government in order to construct truck parks for petroleum tankers along the Lagos -Sagamu expressway.
Executive Secretary of DAPMAN, Mr. Olufemi Adewole made the call at a stakeholders meeting with visiting members of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport in Lagos last week.
Adewole said that construction of more truck parks should be taken seriously because the entrance of major depots in Lagos are already blocked by drivers who do not have anything to do at the depots.
The DAPMAN official said that even though the fuel marketers usually send their loading programmes to the Nigerian Police, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and the Nigerian Navy, trucks still troop down to Apapa unchecked.
He assured that many of the tank farms in Lagos are now constructing their own holding bays.
"There should be a synergy between Lagos State and Ogun State for truck parks along the verse expanse of land along the roads, those who are coming from outside Lagos, the North should stay there to ease the pressure on Lagos"
"Every day unfortunately there are trucks blocking our entrances and we the staff do not even have access to the depot."
"The Navy, Police, LASTMA and FRSC, our programmes go to them on daily basis, if my depot can take twenty five trucks now, then it means I can bring in twenty five trucks into my depot, and it means the passes I will give to the depots should not exceed twenty five trucks"
"Our members, many of them are already constructing their lorry park; Folawiyo, MRS has two parks, one in Tin Can and one along Apapa Oshodi, Swift Oil can load 120trucks in a week and they have 150trucks park, Capital Oil also has one" he said
The DAPMAN Secretary said that many trucks seen on the roads are just coming on their own, even as he alleged that many of the drivers are not disciplined and are uncontrollable.
He denied allegations that marketers usually programme more than the products they have in their tanks.
He alleged that the leadership of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of NUPENG knows the solution on how to cub tankers parking on expressways, but he said that they have refused to address the situation.
"We the marketers agreed on a call-up system, a truck that is not on the programme is not expected on that road, we know the capacity of our depots, we know the number of trucks we can handle in each depot at any given time, we don't expect anybody to allow other trucks to have access to the depot"
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