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Tag: Tanker drivers

  • Tanker drivers and training need assessment

    Tanker drivers and training need assessment

    There is no doubt about the fact that the level of damages done by accidents involving tankers and other articulated vehicles is worrisomely high.

    However, some of the solutions being proffered by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and some state governments are not correctly articulated. Those measures amount to putting the cart before the horse and cannot significantly reduce the crashes involving articulated vehicles in Nigeria. Proper problem diagnosis must always precede the announcement of solutions which willeventually fail.

    Going down the memory lane, articulated vehicles have been plying Nigerin roads for at least 30years now despite the fact that there is no single driving school that has a tanker or trailer to train the drivers as affirmed by FRSC. In Nigeria as at today, there are over 100,000  articulated vehicles plying Nigerian  roads. Out of the over 200,000 drivers handling the articulated vehicles, not up to 4,000 of them were involved in accidents in a year which boils down to two percent.

    This brief analogy tells us that if these whole lot of driver have been moving the vehicles safely without going to driving schools, then the major challenge of the drivers of articulated vehicles is not in teaching them how to operate the vehicles but in the management of the drivers by their employers and in the drivers’ ability to effectively co– ordinate their driving.

    If driving schools should buy trailers for the training of drivers, they will need to embark on behind– the – wheel instruction for example, from Lagos to Kano for comprehensive hands -on training. The diesel or gas used will be about N50,000.00.

    How much will the driving schools charge such an individual and how many people can afford to pay?

    How many VIOs have trailers and well-built driving range for the testing of such drivers in Nigeria? None for now! The purchase of articulated vehicles by Driving schools, VIOs and FRSC is not the focal issue now. Prevention education by driving schools backed up by thorough tests on the part of the VIOs and unbiased enforcement and prosecution by FRSC Officers holds the ace.

    The result – oriented actions I expected the FRSC and State governments to take is to embark on a deep research on how the trailer drivers have been successfully learning how to operate the vehicles without going to formal driving schools? What were the challenges they encountered in the process? What problems or damages did they cause in the process of learning to drive? What are the problems they are still battling with and the effects on road safety?

    Objective investigation should be conducted to know the actual factors that caused each accident involving articulated vehicles (Investigation, Recording and Reporting). Answers to the above – mentioned questions will pave way for effective solution to the accident crisis. Such reports may be in soft copies only, to save cost.

    Within the past four years, I have been involved in interacting and training some drivers of articulated vehicles and I found out that the factors responsible for their involvement in road accidents is not that they did not know how to operate or move the vehicles. Rather, their major challenges include the following:

    1. Lack of deep understanding of the vehicle characteristics, vehicle dynamics and driving forces such as the effects of gravity, centrifugal force, centripetal force, kinetic energy, inertia, hydroplaning, and road banking on the movement of articulated vehicles.
    2. Inadequate attention to the use of the weapon of driver diary and fatigue management by their employers.
    3. Inadequate knowledge of the drivers on fatigue, sleep debt, chronic fatigue syndrome and allied challenges such as high blood pressure and diabetes among others.

     

    1. The usually unresolved controversy between the Drivers and their Employers on Brake management, Load management, Speed management and Road worthiness of vehicles.
    2. Lack of in-depth knowledge of the components, workings, effects and dangers of Alcohol, Energy Drinks, Cannabis, and other forms of Psychoactive drugs (including some categories of prescription drugs) as well as the effects of sex – in – transit and the use of sex enhancement drugs on driving.

    If FRSC, State Governments and Driving Schools in Nigeria buy one million Tankers and other articulated vehicles for the training of Drivers, it will not solve 10 percent of the problems. Rather, it will result to a waste of resources unless the above – mentioned challenges are adequately and effectively addressed.

    I also want to suggest that all the Transport Companies that are operating fleets of articulated vehicles should be allowed to use their experienced Drivers to train the newly employed Drivers on how to Drive or operate the vehicles as they have been doing in the past. They should also have driving range. The popular training system hitherto used includes accompanying the new Drivers in journeys for hand – on training which is good. To become Trailer Drivers, they must have known how to drive smaller vehicles like buses with reasonable driving experience.

    All the articulated vehicle Owners must however be compelled by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and State Governments to send all their Drivers to  FRSC – accreditedDriving Schools for mandatory capacity building training programmes where they will be deeply taught the above – mentioned topics among others and issued with “Certificate of Competence” by the Driving Schools (to be renewed annually).

    Arrested traffic offenders should be fined and promptly sent to Driving Schools for correctional training programmes without any iota of compromise.

    Driving Schools however need to complement their training with computerized simulators designed for Drivers of articulated vehicles, videos and other relevant Driver Education resources to enhance the effectiveness of their training programmes. Driving Schools will surely be able to do this if their training opportunities currently being hijacked by the FRSC and some State Government Agencies are totally left for them to run.

    What is much more needed now is a result – oriented Stakeholders forum which will include the Ministries of Transport (Federal & State), FRSC, VIOs, Association of Driving Instructors of Nigeria(the Umbrella Body of the Driving Schools in Nigeria], Transport/Haulage Companies and the various Transport Companies to proffer the short – term and long- term solutions to the challenges. The previous exclusion of Driving Schools from the Stakeholders’ meetings is a very costly error which needs to be promptly corrected to achieve the desired goals.

    Without any iota of doubt, I am very confident that these prescription will drastically reduce and eventually eliminate the accidents involving the Drivers of articulated vehicles in Nigeria.

     

    End.

  • ‘Tanker drivers record zero accidents’

    ‘Tanker drivers record zero accidents’

    Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) have been praised for recording zero accidents in recent time. The body is a unit of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG).

    Its National President, Comrade Salmon Akanni Oladiti, said an appraisal conducted by the union showed that there had been a remarkable reduction in tanker accidents in the last six weeks.

    Oladiti, who spoke in Lagos, said it is gladdening that despite the fact that all drivers were busy distributing petroleum products across the country in the last few weeks, especially during the last Sallah holidays, no accident was recorded. He said this was a departure from the past.

    He said the record has  shown that his men are trainable, adding that the union has embarked on aggressive training of its members in line with its commitment to reduce the rate of petroleum tanker accidents.

    The ongoing retraining in each of the six zones of the union, he said, is being conducted in conjunction with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

    He enjoined his members to be careful on roads and ensure that their trucks are road worthy.

    Oladiti said the union will continue to build on the success of the training in order to ensure that its members internalise the tenets of safe driving.

    He said: “Our union is committed to the reduction of carnage on our roads, We are as concerned as all other stakeholders to ensure that the nation’s roads are kept safe and that our members keep to the rules of driving for the safety of all road users. That is why we have directed all our zones to begin the retraining and any driver, who did not undergo this is prevented from getting on the road.”

    The union, according to him, will stop at nothing to ensure that all its members are retrained because of its commitment to the safety of lives and property.

    “We are committed to safety at the PTD. We will not rest on our oars in ensuring that our vehicles are fit, but would also continue to enforce the retraining of our members to make them responsible road users. We shall also continue to ensure that truck owners employ only mature drivers and ensure that each trailer on a long distance have two drivers in compliance to traffic regulations,” Oladiti said.

    He said the union will continue to work with truck owners to ensure that only road worthy tankers are on the roads. He said his men have been directed to stop driving any vehicle that have failed road worthiness test.

    The PTD, he assured,  will continue to work with the government in ensuring that petroleum products get to all nooks and crannies of the country to address the shortages of the product in some states.

     

  • Thankless tanker drivers

    Thankless tanker drivers

    •They must obey Lagos State governor’s order

    Will Lagosians ever be spared the agony of the gridlock on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway? This question becomes pertinent given the latest order by the Lagos State Government to the state police command and the state task force team to rid the highway of the petrol tankers that have made plying the axis a nightmare. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode who renewed the order asked both organisations to restore sanity to the road and ensure smooth flow of traffic that has been hampered by the tanker drivers who park indiscriminately on the road in their bid to lift fuel at the Apapa ports.

    The latest order by Governor Ambode was the second since his assumption of office on May 29. About three weeks ago, he gave a similar order during a visit to the Apapa corridor. His predecessor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, did the same thing time and again before leaving office. Unfortunately, just as in the Ambode case, the tanker drivers disappeared from the road only for a while. This time around, they took advantage of the change of the commissioner of police in the state, which made the task force to retreat in the enforcement of traffic law because it was not sure of how favourably disposed the new police commissioner would be to the matter.

    It is good that Governor Ambode had reminded the security personnel of the need to enforce the state traffic law and ensure that traffic moves unhindered on the road within 48 hours. No sane government would allow the magnitude of impunity perpetrated by the petrol tanker drivers in its domain, particularly on a busy artery as the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. We must hasten to add, however, that this time, the compliance must endure. Never again should the tanker drivers return to the road to constitute nightmares to other road users.

    No doubt, the tanker drivers are rendering an invaluable service to the nation; but so are many others whose businesses they cripple whenever they park indiscriminately on the busy highway. And, since this is now becoming a recurring decimal, the governments, particularly the Federal Government, has to think out of the box. In the first place, it is a misnomer that Nigeria, a major crude oil producer, has to be importing the bulk of its petroleum products, necessitating the establishment of many tank farms in the Apapa ports axis, hence the huge number of tankers in the area.

    The Federal Government makes a lot of money from the Apapa ports. The problem is the lack of transparency in its management, especially as Nigerians hardly know how much comes in and how much of it is remitted into the Federation Account, if any. With the new dispensation, it should be possible to ensure that the right things are done with the revenue coming into the ports coffers. It won’t be out of place to suggest that part of the revenue realised from the ports be made to solve the perennial problems on the highway.

    Moreover, we need to relieve the Apapa ports of the burden of carrying all the load. In this regard, we note the collaboration among the Federal Government, the state government and a private investor to develop the Lekki Deep Seaport in Akodo, Ibeju-Lekki Local Council of the state. We are glad too that the Lagos State Government is planning another port for Badagry. The railway from the ports should also be resuscitated to link the Iddo Terminus for onward ferrying of products from the ports to other parts of the country.

    Ultimately however, the Federal Government has to do something about the country’s refineries. Importation of petroleum products for us is not only shameful and embarrassing as a major crude oil producer, it is also unsustainable because of the subsidy element that has remained a source of corruption over the years.

    ‘Ultimately however, the Federal Government has to do something about the country’s refineries. Importation of petroleum products for us is not only shameful and embarrassing as a major crude oil producer, it is also unsustainable because of the subsidy element that has remained a source of corruption over the years’ 

  • Lagos APC cautions tanker drivers

    Lagos APC cautions tanker drivers

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has cautioned tanker drivers to be mindful of the lives and properties of Lagosians.

    The party said the two tanker accidents are worrisome. It urged tanker drivers must take extra precaution to avoid a recurrence.

    A statement by its Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe, said: “We deeply sympathise with the victims of the Iyana Ipaja and Idimu incidents. We feel their pain and see their loss as a loss to Lagos.

    “We are alarmed that Lagos witnessed two horrific accidents in a space of a few days and we believe something deliberate must be done by both the government and the tanker drivers to prevent a recurrence.

    “We applaud Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for his quick and prompt response to the incidents but we feel that the state cannot continue to experience these tragedies.

    “We are happy that in both incidences, no life was lost but we regret that several properties were destroyed.

    “Lagos APC calls for stricter regulation of heavy duty vehicles plying Lagos streets, in view of the recurring cases of tanker accidents in Lagos.”

  • Tanker drivers banned from night travels

    Tanker drivers banned from night travels

    The Petroleum Tankers Drivers (PTD) of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) yesterday banned its members from driving at night. It said any member who flouts the order may have their vehicle impounded.

    A statement by PTD’s National Public Relations Officer, Comrade Atanda Adebayo, warned drivers to stop night travels.

    He said: “In the light of the worrisome increase in accidents

    involving petroleum tankers, all branches of the union have been directed to impound any petrol tanker operating at night. This directive has long been in existence, we have always been warning our members to stop driving at night but we would now take it more serious.”

    He added that all measures would be put in place to deal with the menace.

    According to him, PTD believes it is safer for petrol tankers to move at daytime because such would always minimize casualties anytime an accident happens.

  • Tanker drivers insist on strike

    Tanker drivers insist on strike

    Striking Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) said yesterday they would not call off the action until oil marketers are paid their subsidy claims.

    Sahara Oil and Gas Unit of PTD, Auditor-General Isiaka Aremu said the strike would end once the marketers are paid.

    Petroleum products became scarce in Lagos about four weeks ago, following a disagreement between the Federal Government and the oil marketers over N200 billion subsidy claim.

    The marketers are claiming that they are being owed N200 billion, but the government is contending that it is N131 billion.

    The disagreement degenerated into non-importation of petroleum products and the consequent scarcity.

    A NAN correspondent, who monitored depots in Apapa, Lagos, reported that no petroleum tanker was allowed to load there.

    The tank farms visited were ASCON Oil and Gas; Ibeto Oil and Gas; Capital Oil and Gas; Total Oil and Gas; NIPCO Oil and Gas, and Folawiyo Oil and Gas,  Sahara Oil and Gas; Integrated Oil and Gas; MRS Oil and Gas and Mobil Oil and Gas.

    When Mr Tokunbo Korodo, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG)  Southwest Chairman, was contacted, he said: “Sorry, I can’t talk right now.”

    Also Mr Adewole Olufemi, Secretary-General of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA), did not respond to phone calls.

  • Tanker drivers decry Lagos Govt vacation order

    The Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) yesterday said the Lagos State Government order to its members would have a devastating effect on the economy.

    Its President, Mr Salimon Oladiti, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the multiplier effect of the directive might have grave consequences for the country.

    “The implication of the vacation order to truck owners/drivers will have devastating effect on the nation’s economy,” he warned.

    Oladiti, represented by his spokesperson, Mr Abdulkadir Garba, said the drivers were ready to comply with the order.

    He, however, said it would not be easy to return the trucks to Lagos to lift fuel after being chased out hurriedly.

    The union, he said, had met with the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and directed all its members to comply with the 48-hour ultimatum to leave the road.

    On May 13, the government gave the ultimatum to the drivers to vacate the bridge.

    The ultimatum followed the persistent traffic gridlock in Apapa which spilled over to other parts of the metropolis.

    The drivers, who parked within 300 meters of fuel depots, were ordered to relocate to safe parking lots pending the availability of petroleum products.

    Oladiti said though the time and condition given to the drivers were not convenient, they complied as law abiding citizens.

    He said more than 6,000 trucks thronged Lagos to load fuel based on information by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation that it had 1.2 billion litres of fuel in stock.

    The PTD president said the union discovered that only six fuel depots in Lagos had the product.

    “Now that we have obeyed the order and the trucks are moving out of Lagos back to their different destinations without lifting products it will take time to persuade them to go back to Lagos.

    ‘‘This is because of the losses they have incurred which were as a result of uncertainty, the tanker owners and the drivers will be wary of taking another risk to come to Lagos even if there is fuel,’’ he said.

    He expressed fears that the development would worsen the lingering fuel scarcity.

     

  • Tanker drivers get 48-hour ultimatum to quit Lagos roads

    Tanker drivers get 48-hour ultimatum to quit Lagos roads

    For the Lagos State Government, there is no going back on its decision to get fuel tankers off its roads and restore traffic sanity. At a stakeholders’ meeting yesterday, it read a riot act to owners of trucks to remove them within 48 hours. ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE was at the parley.

    How will you feel, if you have to abandon the house you laboured so hard to build and squat with friends and relations, or to relocate to hotels at the precinct of your home, just to avoid the madness that has taken your neighbourhood hostage with no respite in sight?

    Will you be angry, frustrated, depressed, or dejected?

    But that is the lot of residents of Apapa, a bustling megalopolis that has been suffering the lot of playing host to the nation’s busiest seaport and a forest of tank farms for the storage of petroleum products.

    Those who have reasons to go to the Wharf do so with stress.

    The Executive Secretary of Apapa Local Government Area, Mrs. Bolaji Dada, gave a graphic detail of the frustration yesterday.  She said residents no longer enjoy the ambience of the scenic seaside for which the Ports metropolis was once noted.

    “Not only have these tankers blocked the express road, they have moved even to the inner roads, making life a nightmare for residents. Not only this, the entire environment is now filthy, as the drivers of the trucks have turned the roadside to their homes, urinating and defecating with impunity in the open,” the council chief said.

    Mrs. Dada will want the tankers moved. She has allies in the state government and other stakeholders, who believe that is the way to go bring sanity to the axis. But, the only snag is how?

    The riot act

    Worried by the pains the gridlock has caused for other road users, the Lagos government wielded the big stick yesterday. The trucks must be taken off the roads within the next 48 hours, it insisted.

    It read a riot act to the drivers through its Transportation Commissioner Kayode Opeifa, saying it has taken the decision in the best interest of Lagosians. The ultimatum expires tomorrow.

    Opeifa told representatives of the unions: “We strongly believe we will not need to enforce but we won’t hesitate to roll out our tow vehicles to enforce compliance. What we want is that Apapa Road, from Coconut Bus Stop must be cleaned up by Sunday and we will not hesitate to do this if your people refused to move.”

    According to him, residents of Apapa cannot afford the agony any more.

    The commissioner traced the intractable traffic on Apapa-Wharf Road to two sources – petrol tankers that are making commuting nightmarish for other road users from Coconut to Liverpool, where no fewer than 45 tank farms are clustered and trucks heading to the Roll On Roll Off Port (RORO) at Apapa Wharf, most of which have spilled to road arteries in the area – blocking the entrances to the premises of residents.

    Opeifa ordered the immediate evacuation of all articulated vehicles out of Ijora Causeway, describing as unfortunate that the illegal parking bay was spilling over to the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos mainland, all through the Ijora fly-over to Apapa.

    Accusing the truck drivers of leaving a little room for other road users to manouvre, the commissioner warned that any truck found on the bridge after the expiration of the ultimatum will be confiscated and its owner apprehended for prosecution.

    The same verdict was handed down to trucks on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway from Coconut.

    He said: “We do not want to see any tanker between 200 to 300 metres away all tank farms at Apapa. Tankers should find their way out of Lagos. For now, they are only welcome when fuel is available.”

    Though called at a very short notice, representatives of all the unions involved in the distribution of petroleum products attended the meeting hosted by the Ministry of Transportation.

    At yesterday’s meeting were: the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr. Obafemi Olawore; his counterpart in the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPMAN), Mr. Olufemi Adewole; Chairman of Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chief Ajayi Adebayo and Chairman, Lagos Zone of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Mr Tokunbo Korodo, who doubles as the Lagos State chapter Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

    Also at the meeting were: President, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO); Chairman, National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Chief Stephen Okafor and  Chairman, Lagos Chapter of the National Association of Small Scale Investors and Manufacturers Association (NASSIMA), Mr. Olabisi Oluyenumiwo.

    Others were representatives of Export Action Group; National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW); Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Lagos Commissioner of Police, who was represented by Mr. A. Adetayo; head of the State’s Special Task Force, Mr. Bayo Sulaimon, a Superintendent of Police; Executive Director of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Yemi Edu; Lagos State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps Hyginus Omeje and representatives of the tank farm owners.

    Lagos’ involvement

    Opeifa said though the issues that eventually degenerated into traffic snarl has no connection with his ministry, yet, the government cannot ignore the pains of the lingering fuel scarcity, which is gradually grinding public transportation to a halt.

    “We cannot allow the state to be completely choked up before we take any action. We cannot allow the Ikorodu Road to be further clogged than it is already from the Stadium, otherwise, we all will suffer the inactions of the government,” Opeifa said.

    According to him, the government is not out to cripple other people’s businesses, yet, it will not fold its hands while the marketers cripple the state’s transportation architecture, noting that MOMAN members have no issue with the government but IPMAN members, who also have a right to be in business, must conduct same with decorum and take their trucks off the roads.

    Observing that the state cannot stay without enforcement, Opeifa assured that the government will continue to adopt moral suasion to persuade tanker drivers through their leadership.

    He also appealed to the Federal Government and the Finance Minister & Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to resolve the lingering issues relating to outstanding bridging funds to the marketers to pave the way for the resumption of petroleum products’ importation.

    He noted that the “false” assurances by the finance minister that the Federal Government has paid the outstanding subsidy to the marketers and assurances by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that it has enough fuel has worsened the situation.

    The commissioner noted that the two claims resulted to avoidable panic by independent markerters. He therefore called on the Federal Government not only to pay the backlog of the fuel subsidy but to give bank guarantee to assure further imports to ameliorate the sufferings of the people.

    Unresolved N200b

    subsidy balance

    Faulting the Federal Government on the claims, Olawoore said importers are still being owned up to the tune of N200 billion and expressed concern over the payment claim by Dr. Okonjo-Iweala.

    Saying that no importer will commit himself to any commodity to which he is not assured of a repayment, he challenged the government to come clean on where they have been storing the products they claimed they have been importing.

    Federal Government

    carpeted

    “Let them tell us the tank farm in which the commodity was being kept and if it is being transloaded on the high sea, or the vessel is on its way, let them tell us, we have adequate machinery to verify any onshore activity,” Olawoore said.

    On the plan to rid the Apapa axis of the thousands of illegally parked trucks, Olawoore said there can never be any respite for as long as tank farms and ports activities go on simultaneously within the same environment.

    He therefore called for the relocation of the ports as well as the tank farms from the Apapa vicinity.

    His words: “I was a member of the panel chaired by the former  Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu that looked at the situations of the ports sometime in 2001 and I had a letter by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo directing the relocation of the tank farms from Apapa. Since then, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had licenced the siting of other tank farms within the location, further compounding the crisis that we are about to ameliorate.”

    He observed that globally, ports have always been relocated to avoid a clash with human activities.

    “It is not out of place to recommend on the long term that the Federal Government consider the relocation of the Ports from

    Apapa. The government needs to look for other green locations to absorb the challenges that human activities are bringing to the ports activities,”he suggested.

    Towing the MOMAN position, Adewole said the scarcity of products may persist because there is no fuel to distribute.

    He said: “Normally, the tankers ought not to be on the road since there’s no product to lift but because of the confusion generated by the tagging and programming, many of them found themselves on the road and have refused to go on the assumption that the commodity will soon be supplied.”

    Truck drivers as victims

    Adewole, who spoke of a plan to hold a far-reaching meeting with all depot owners and operators to streamline programming, said that no tanker should be tagged and programmed to load when products are not available.

    Also speaking, Korodo lamented that tanker drivers are victims of circumstances in the unfolding scenario, saying they should not be made to carry the can.

    The NUPENG chief said most of his members are independent workers, who get paid on the load they ferry from the tank farms.

    He said: “Many of them will love to leave the road and return to their families but they dare not because they were called by marketers who have been tagged that they have been programmed to lift fuel and they will not be paid for a work not done.

    He assured that his men will continue to bear with the government until the intractable scarcity becomes a thing of the past.

    AMATO’s President (Odugbemi) blamed the indiscriminate parking of trucks in the Apapa axis on the reallocation the parcel of land earmarked for parking lot for other purposes by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

    He appealed to the Lagos State government to give a human face to its decision to enforce the ultimatum, saying it will be unfair to make the truck owners the unfortunate victims of an institutional failure.

    His suggestion that the International Trade Fair Complex be allowed as a temporary parking bay was turned down by the government, which said the accommodation of trailers was never factored into the original design of the complex.

    Opeifa said a mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) must be carried out before such steps can be taken, even as he noted that accepting such will amount to transferring the headache from Apapa to Festac Town, a development he said will worsen traffic on the Badagry Expressway.

    He urged AMATO, NATO and other stakeholders to use the Kirikiri Truck and Tanker Park, failing which they risk prosecution.

    In his own contribution, Oluyenumiwo said government’s actions may fail if the roads leading to the ports are not expanded and dedicated lanes created for trucks from Mile 2 to the Apapa Ports.

    He said: “Our roads are becoming increasingly smaller compared to the volume of the activities going on at the ports and the traffic congestion is becoming intractable due to the sheer auto density.

    The Apapa Road network needs a new design to accommodate the present realities and until this is done, we will continue to have the same crisis on our hands.”

    The communique

    Responding,  Opeifa told his audience that a new road design was identified in 2012, but yet to be captured in successive budgets of the Federal Government.

    He said: “The Federal Ministry of Works had completed a design to convert the entire Creek Road and if this had been done, much of the congestion being experienced on the road would have been avoided.

    “Till now, that project has not been awarded. I am aware that new sea ports have taken off in Lekki and tank farms have been allocated spaces there. In fact, we gathered that the allotted spaces are now oversubscribed by tank farm owners. When this eventually takes off, it will take traffic off the metropolis as tanker drivers can access Sagamu, in Ogun State, without coming into Lagos.

    “Another deep sea port is almost completed in Badagry and these will eventually absorb the challenges being experienced in Apapa. We are looking forward to the resuscitation of all our refineries and the take off of new ones. When this comes on stream, there will be less gridlock.

    “Soon, our train networks will takeoff. When this happens, we see a reduction in vehicular traffic, especially by the commercial 14-seater buses, as commuters will opt for trairail-based transportation.”

    Reading a draft communiqué after its adoption by stakeholders through a voice-vote, Opeifa said: “Stakeholders agreed that the major cause of the present clog of tankers in Apapa is traceable to the non availability of petroleum products to be lifted by the tankers at any of the depots and tank farms in the Apapa metropolis.”

  • Lagos orders tanker drivers to leave Eko Bridge

    Lagos orders tanker drivers to leave Eko Bridge

    The Lagos State Government has ordered tanker drivers off Alaka and Eko bridges to ensure public safety and free flow of traffic.

    The government urged the drivers to comply with its Road Traffic Law, which is aimed at keeping the state moving.

    Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) General Manager Babatunde Edu, said yesterday after a tour that the disorderliness and chaos on Eko Bridge/Funsho Williams Avenue, were intolerable. He said it had become necessary to curb the drivers’ excesses to cushion the hardship on other motorists.

    Edu noted that the axis was gradually becoming an eyesore, adding that if not properly managed, it could aggravate to lawlessness and indiscipline being witnessed daily at Apapa.

    According to him, government being responsible and responsive would ensure that every citizen has a right to the roads, which he said, were not constructed only for articulated vehicles.

    “Section 21 of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority Law of 2007 restricts driving or propelling, whether mechanically or otherwise, of articulated vehicles, heavy-duty vehicles, lorries, trailers and tankers on the BRT Lite Corridor between 11am and 4pm and between 11pm and 5pm”, he said.

    The tankers, Edu said, should make use of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway which is primarily designed for such purpose, urging them to stay away from all bridges except during the time frame stipulated by law.

    He attributed the perennial gridlock being witnessed around the state to the spill over of traffic from the Ijora entrance of Eko Bridge connecting Apapa. “This act of insensitivity has crippled the economy of the state denying other people their rights to livelihood”, Edu said.

    The LASTMA chief said government is not unaware of the problems of petrol scarcity,  and appealed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other stakeholders to live up to their responsibilities.

    He enjoined tank farm owners to ensure that only tankers booked for immediate loading allowed to come to Lagos in order not to compound traffic.

    He enjoined the Petroleum Tankers Drivers (PTD) Branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to urge their members to comply with traffic laws.

     

  • Be vigilant, petroleum tanker drivers urged

    Petroleum tanker drivers have been urged to be more vigilant and security conscious as they go about their job.

    The National Chairman of Petroleum Tanker Drivers, a branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, told its members that the union shall continue to rise in defence of their interests. He urged them to continue to be law abiding and to ensure the delivery of the essential products across the country.

    Oladiti cautioned them against over-speeding, adding that the PTD would continue to collaborate with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on  the strict enforcement of speed limit regulation.

    He warned tanker drivers to stop using petroleum tankers to carry passengers and to remember that such acts are dangerous, noting that many drivers have died while others have been caught as a result of their involvement in crimes because they carried passengers with contraband goods.

    Oladiti said any driver caught would face the law as he had directed that no chapter of the union should intervene in such matters.

    He urged his members to always remember their loved ones waiting for them at home anytime they are at work, adding that they should see their being behind the wheel as an assignment that must be taken with total responsibility.

    Also, the PTD’s National Public Relations Officer, Comrade Atanda Adebayo, has warned members of public to stop patronising petroleum tanker trucks and and stop using them to carry unauthorised goods.

    He said henceforth, any other goods besides petroleum products found on any tanker would be deemed as illegal and would be confiscated by law enforcement agents.

    Adebayo said this was part of the resolution reached at the last quarterly retreat which took place on December 20 in Port Harcourt, adding that the chairman has promised uninterrupted lifting of petroleum products to all parts of the country during the Yuletide.