Even as operators in the maritime industry have continued to call for the immediate relocation of petroleum tank farms from the Apapa-Oshodi expressway, the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of NUPENG has said that everyone is culpable and should be held responsible for the traffic situation.
Even as operators in the maritime industry have continued to call for the immediate relocation of petroleum tank farms from the Apapa-Oshodi expressway, the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of NUPENG has said that everyone is culpable and should be held responsible for the traffic situation.
Also, following last week’s 14 days ultimatum that was issued by the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) to the Federal Government that, unless tank farms are relocated from Apapa, and the roads repaired, the union will paralyze port activities, the tanker drivers have equally called the bluff of their maritime counterparts, saying that this is never a threat to them. The drivers are under the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers Union (NUPENG).
Speaking exclusively with Shipping Position Daily via telephone last week, Zonal Secretary of Petroleum Tanker Drives (PTD) arm of NUPENG, Comrade Abidoye Lawal said that nobody can be exempted from the blames, including the maritime trucks as well as other road users.
Abidoye said that nobody should blame tanker drivers because according to him, the major cause of the traffic gridlock was the bad condition of the roads leading to the seaports and to the tank farms.
MWUN had issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to among others, evacuate all petrol tankers and other heavy duty vehicles along the access roads to the sea ports or risk all ports operations nationwide been shut.
In a petition to the Federal Government, through the Minister of Transport, the union also demanded relocation of all the tank farms along the access roads to the sea ports and rehabilitation of all the access roads to the sea ports within the next 14 days for industrial peace to reign in the ports.
The union scribe challenged the Federal Government to wake up to its responsibility by fixing up major access roads leading to Apapa where he described as the nation’s commercial nerve.
In the petition dated July 9, 2014, MWUN through its Secretary General Aham Ubani, the union lamented that incessant gridlock on Oshodi/Apapa Expressway, had practically shut all economic and other activities on the Oshodi/Apapa axis besides inflicting untold hardship on residents and those whose businesses are located in the environs.
"We are all involved; nobody is exempted, or is it only tankers that use the road? So the maritime workers issuing an ultimatum is never a threat to us, it is government that licensed the tank farms to be in Apapa, and we are just like messengers to distribute the fuel, anywhere they relocate the tank farms to we will be there" he said.
But Comrade Abidoye said that NUPENG will not accept a situation whereby it will continue to be blackmailed for the irresponsibility of the government. He said if the Federal Government thinks that relocation of the petroleum tank farms is the best solution, it should not hesitate to do so.
"If you are accessing the port from Mile 2, the moment you descend the bridge heading to Tin Can, the road is so bad, also if you are coming from Ikorodu road heading to the port, from Alaka bridge, the road is terrible, you and I need to realize that once there is no good road, there is no way there can be smooth flow of traffic"
"But Nigerians are fond of seeing white and calling it black, they want to blame tanker drivers and tank farm owners instead of blaming the government who licensed the tank farms to be sited in Apapa"
"The government is the one who granted the approval for the construction of tank farms, they are only interested is collecting money which they have not even been able to use well, after collecting money for tank farms and port terminals, the major infrastructures required for the facility to run properly are not there".
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