For what it described as share negligence and insensitivity to the major source of revenue collection into federal purse, petroleum tanker drivers under the aegis of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has expressed their readiness to challenge the Federal Government over the deteriorated state of the Apapa-Oshodi expressway.
For what it described as share negligence and insensitivity to the major source of revenue collection into federal purse, petroleum tanker drivers under the aegis of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has expressed their readiness to challenge the Federal Government over the deteriorated state of the Apapa-Oshodi expressway.
The tanker drivers who belong to the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) arm of NUPENG complained that the sunrise end of the expressway is presently an eye-saw, considering the fact that it is the main location of all tank farms in Lagos as well as the road leading to the nation’s premier ports.
According to them, the road has been in bad shape for years and this has led to huge losses due to tankers falling all the time and spilling their content as a result of the bad portion of the road.
The Assistant National Secretary of the PTD in Lagos, Mr. Tayo Boyeji confirmed to Shipping Position Daily last week that the tanker drivers are already bracing up to challenge the Federal government on the matter.
According to him, the ongoing construction at the Trinity bus stop which has since been abandoned is also causing a lot of traffic along the road because the construction company has already sealed off part of the expressway thereby forcing both tankers and other motorist to resign to a single tiny lane.
Also confirming this development to our correspondent, Public Relations Officer of the PTD unit in Acorn tank farm, Comrade Nrudeen Adewale lamented that even though the road belongs to the federal government, the tanker drivers have been forced over the years to contribute sums of money in collaboration with the depot owners so as to patch the roads for efficient movement of tankers.
“each unit collaborate with their tank farms to contribute this money, after we have collated everything we give it to Ibru because he is the landlord, so he is the one that will arrange for these blocks that will now be used to fill up these death traps” Adewale explained.
He also pointed out that the construction company working along the expressway is supposed to be mandated to carry out the patching of the dilapidated portion of the expressway in the short term, pending when the full construction work will be completed on both lanes.
Shipping Position Daily correspondent who visited the Apapa expressway also noticed that on the way to the port, the Sunrise bust stop area is totally in a bad shape while coming out of the port and the tank farms, the Trinity bus stop has been cordoned off with heavy caterpillars belonging the construction company; Borini Prono which for the past three weeks has made the movement in and outside of the port and tank farms area very difficult.
Continuing, Adewale explained that the union had also approached the state government last month for the repair of the roads but that the state government had referred them back to the Federal Government under the Federal Road Management Authority (FERMA).
“Tankers have been falling on the bad portion of that road every other day, the executives of our union have fought the government severally for the repairs, not only for this road but for all the federal roads in the country, and we will continue to fight it” he promised.
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