Daily Independent Online.
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Friday, July 02, 2004.
Tankers turn Lagos highways into parking lots
again
By Victor Ebimomi
reporter, Lagos
Lagosians may have to contend for a long time with
the menace of petroleum tankers that have turned some Lagos roads into parking
lots. And the renewed presence of the tankers is now being linked to the importation of petroleum products
in the country.
The menace seems to have been on the increase
creating in the process frustrating traffic obstructions in many areas of the
metropolis.
Those involved in the distribution of the products
for which the tankers are used have said that there would not be an end to it
except local production of petroleum products resume at a full swing in the
country.
The Western Zone Secretary of the National Union of
Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo who disclosed
this in an interview with Daily Independent said that the situation was part of
the pains the country would continue to bear for the comatose condition of the
country’s four refineries.
Reacting to a question on the presence of long
stretches of tankers which are now a common sight particularly on top of
Ijora-Olopa and Apapa/Wharf bridges as well as Apapa/ Iganmu road, he explained
that there was nothing that could be done at least for now to check the
situation as long as oil marketers still depend on importation of petroleum
products.
According to him, since the importations are done
mostly at the Lagos ports the pressure would always be on the roads in the
state. He added that the situation was even made worse by the non-availability
of parking lot for the hundreds of tankers coming into the state on daily
basis.
“We will continue to have more tankers in Lagos
as long as the refineries are not functioning and the importation of petroleum
products is done at the ports in the state. The reason is that tankers that are
supposed to be at different depots in Ore, Kaduna and other depots in the
country are now in Lagos”, he said, adding: “ Lagos is now feeding
the whole nation in terms of fuel exportation”.
He noted that the state is however trying everything
possible to save the situation among which is allocation of land for parking
lot.
According him, the state had already given out a
letter of authority to the tanker drivers to move to the parking lot but there
are no documents such as Certificate Of Occupancy (C of O) to back it up. This
he explained has in a way made it difficult to solicit for loan to develop the
land.
He
further stated that the place is sandy and because of the rainy season it is
impossible for the tankers to make use of it “because if they go there,
they will sink”.
The unionist added that the stakeholders are now
clamoring for a truck terminal from the Lagos state government, a request that
he disclosed the state is already doing something about, adding that the state
had already given the relevant ministry the go ahead “but perhaps it is
delayed because of the bureaucracy in government”.
Korodo however promised that the Stakeholders
Committee is poised to commence work the moment the request for the terminal is
fully granted.
It could be recalled that the state government once
arrested about sixty tankers for causing traffic confusion in the state after
an ultimatum given them to quit the road expired. The development provoked the
Petrol Tanker Drivers Association who threatened to embark on strike before the
issue was resolved. They were later allocated a land for parking by the state
but it is yet to be developed, according to Korodo for lack of necessary
documents.
