Product Loading Resumes as PTD, Government Reach Agreement

Activities have  resumed fully at the various depots as striking tanker drivers confirmed suspension of their strike which partially crippled socio-economic activities in different parts of the countries. Our correspondent confirmed that normalcy and calm have since returned at the various depots and petroleum outlets in Lagos as majority of the tanker drivers have commenced loading of products to Abuja.
There were long queues at filling stations all over Abuja shortly before the recent Eid Eil Kabir holidays as a result of the directive from the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to stop loading of products to Abuja in protest against an alleged long standing contractual issue.
Shipping Position Weekly gathered that the directive was a pre-strike action which the union decided to embark on before going on a nation wide strike. It would be recalled that the PTD had earlier given a condition that repairs of the access roads to the depots must be given attention before its members can resume loading of products.
However, top executives of the tanker drivers’ union have now reached an agreement with the federal government over the demands and activities have since resumed in full fledge.
Assistant secretary of the petroleum tanker drivers confirmed to Shipping Position Weekly in a chat that “an agreement has been reached with our executives and in the main time, we have directed our members to resume loading of products to Abuja”.
A source that is also a member of the NUPENG told Shipping Position Weekly that apart from the withdrawal of service to Abuja, transportation and other logistics has always been the cause of scarcity in the northern states, stating that it is the private depots in Lagos that the government is using to bridge the gap of supply.
Our source said that it sometimes takes months for the products to actually leave Lagos and it could take another month before the product could get to the desired destination.