Fuel Scarcity Looms, As Tanker Drivers Stop Fuel Supply

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Even as Muslim faithfuls prepare for the Sallah festival, there is anxiety in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry as the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) says it has withdrawn its tankers from Lagos depots.

Chairman of Lagos Zonal Council, Comrade Tayo Aboyeji on Tuesday explained that the withdrawal was due to extortion of the tanker drivers by security operatives along the way to the depots.

He also lamented that the Presidential Task Team on Apapa Traffic headed by Comrade Kayode Opeifa has not created any lasting access for tanker drivers, according to him, other articulated trucks have blocked access to the various depots.

Boyeji described the situation as unfavorable and affecting the operations of tanker drivers in the state.
He added that all the tanker drivers have now been turned back to their respective stations.

“Tankers were directed to come to the tank farms by 10 am. daily by the Presidential Task Force; but even when we comply, the road is usually not accessible.

“Drivers are harassed by ’area boys’ (miscreants) who dispose them of their money or leave them maimed while waiting to access the farms,” he said.

Aboyeji also decried the deplorable conditions of Lagos roads, saying that this had caused most of the accidents involving trucks.

“We are fed up with this great loss; the union is calling on government to fix the roads,” the NUPENG chief said.

He said that the strike would continue until solutions were proffered to the problems.

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