Tony Osauzo, Benin
Scarcity of petroleum products looms, as members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of NUPENG, have threatened to withdraw their services from January 15, 2020 if the Federal Government fails to clear Lagos roads of containers by that deadline.
National Chairman of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, Comrade Salmom Akanni Oladiti, issued the ultimatum in Benin City at the weekend while addressing journalists at the end of the quarterly branch executive meeting of petroleum tanker drivers.
He observed that the Federal Task Force set up to decongest Lagos roads of trucks carrying containers though has tried its best but the problem of gridlocks on the roads, particularly at Coconut and Tin Can Island axis, persists, forcing their members to spend weeks before loading petroleum products from the Lagos tank farms, a situation he said was unacceptable.
Besides, Comrade Oladiti regretted that vandals had destroyed pipelines across the country which were meant to ensure free flow of petroleum products all over the country.
“The founding fathers meant well by constructing over 5,000 km of pipelines. If successive governments since 1999 had paid attention to roads and vandalism, the situation of the facilities would not have degenerated to the current level”, the PDT National Chairman lamented.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his transformation agenda and thanked the federal government for making petroleum products available across the country, just as he urged the government to speed up the current rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Benin-Warri and Benin-Auchi-Lokoja roads.
Earlier, while addressing the petroleum tanker drivers, Comrade Oladiti said the Apapa gridlock appeared to have overwhelmed the authorities and solution to the problem not in sight. He, therefore, sympathized with the drivers over the hardship they were facing n a daily basis.
To check the activities of criminals from destroying the business and image and of Petroleum Tanker Drivers, the National Chairman announced that new Identity Card and Stickers would be designed for members.
In view of the security situation in the country, Comrade Oladiti admonished the Petroleum Tanker Drivers to take extra caution and change their behaviour by shunning careless display of wealth, inappropriate public conduct, unguarded utterances and night journeys.