Apapa recurring gridlock: NUPENG wants NNPC to provide alternative loading depots for tankers
On Monday, the 17th of July 2017, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) appealed to the NNPC to provide alternative loading depots for petroleum tankers to check the recurring gridlock in Apapa area of Lagos State. The appeal was made in an interview with Newsmen in Lagos by Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, the South-West Chairman of the union.
According to Korodo, the recurring gridlock in Apapa was because 90 per cent of petroleum products were stored in various private tank farms in the area.
“This is why all the adjourning routes to Apapa always experience traffic jams. The tanker drivers are always on queue waiting for their time to load the petroleum products stored in various farm tanks in Apapa. They occupy a lane out of the two-lane route until it is their turn to load. “At present, Tin-Can Island-link road is not passable to the depots; the Ijora-Wharf Road is in deplorable conditions due to several pot-holes there.
“The tanker drivers have been on queue for days, obstructing free flow of traffic. “It is dangerous to have trailers stationary on those bridges for days, it could weaken the bridges. “The tanker drivers should not be held responsible for parking their trucks on the route leading to the depots.
“This is because there are no alternative routes to the depots for now. The corporation should begin to use its System 2B Pipeline Network, to pump petroleum products from Atlas Cove Depot to other depots in the southwestern part of the country, the chairman said.
