FG rid the ports of oil peddlers.

The federal government has finally commenced the evacuation of peddlers of petroleum products away from the Lagos ports as well as from around the tank farms located at the coconut axis of Apapa.
The evacuation process began week as men of the Nigerian police who were said to have been deployed to the ports by the Nigerian Ports Authority commenced raiding and ransacking of all the nooks and crannies of the seaport environment where the boys are using as their mini filling stations.
One of the officers who spoke to our correspondent explained that “we have been asked to carry out the operation by NPA, so if anybody has any issues with that let him go and make his complains”
When contacted, the public affairs manager of the Nigerian Ports Authority Mr. Musa Iliya told Shipping Position Weekly that “in line with the implementation of the port environmental policy which encourage pollution prevention, control and clearing up in the port industry, it is illegal and also an offence for oil peddlers and hoodlums to gain access into the ports and its environs, the port environment is a traffic point therefore whatever stands as impediments ought to be removed” he said. 
There has been complains and cry outs in recent times by tank farm operators around Ibafon in Lagos that these boys use their illegal peddling front to hang around oil depots causing traffic congestions and carrying out attack on berthing oil vessels.
We recall that the fire incidence which ignited recently at the Ibru jetty and many more of such incidences were said to have been perpetuated by boys constantly fronting as oil peddlers around the premises of the depot. The recent fire incidence which if not controlled would have led to a major disaster started when two wooden boats with several drums in it had arrived at the jetty and commenced siphoning fuel from a vessel at berth.
While explaining the reason for the redeployment of men of the Nigerian navy back to the tank farms in apapa recently, a depot manager at one of the tank farms confirmed to Shipping Position Weekly that the issue has become a major concern to the stakeholders technical committee of the depot owners saying that “miscreants like oil chandlers, hawkers and so on are beginning to dominate the environment and we have to clear them off in order to make the environment safe and friendly, recently somebody was shot dead along this place in broad day light which means the environment is not safe”
Also in a paper document signed recently by the executives of the petroleum tanker drivers branch of the National union of petroleum and natural gas workers (NUPENG), the group cried out on the recurrent traffic congestions usually caused by some oil peddlers on the route “we are asking for help and support from the zonal executive to help us combat the menace of touts and oil peddlers under the coconut bridge who are causing a lot of traffic congestion for vehicles and trucks that ply through integrated” the paper read.