Fashola moves to enforce proper truck parking in Apapa

Governor Babatunde Fashola raised a ray of hope yesterday for the once pristine neighbourhood of Apapa which has been under an unending siege by tanker drivers, with a promise to whip the lawless drivers into line at the expiration of a week deadline.

Officers of  the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) who met with the governor while he was visiting Apapa pleaded for time to change their ways and Fashola gave a one week notice during which he said he expected to see full compliance by the vehicle drivers, failing which

law enforcement officers would be sent in to maintain order.

The governor who visited the community after two weeks of unprecedented traffic gridlock, met a good part of Creek road completely overtaken by tankers waiting to load fuel and he saw some of the many to let notices and other clear signs of the massive exodus of businesses which are exiting Apapa because of the persistent traffic gridlock.

After listening to the NUPENG officials and residents as well as some company owners who came and joined in the dialogue, Fashola asked, “why must all the fuel used in Nigeria be supplied from only Lagos? Where is the NNPC? Why is that we cannot find a better way of supplying and transporting fuel? Is it right to kill all other businesses simply because we want to supply fuel?”

Wale Tinubu, the CEO of Oando Plc who joined the governor on the visit pledged to liaise with his colleagues and owners of petrol tank farms to evolve answers to some of the posers and ease the strangulating siege on Apapa.

Fashola also said that the state government would not shy away from protecting  residents of Apapa, assuring that the traffic jams being experienced in the area would improve within the one week.

The governor yesterday undertook an inspection of the Apapa axis and Mile Two, where vehicular movement in the last one month has been particularly difficult due to the activities petroleum tankers, container bearing trucks and the ongoing expansion of the Lagos-Badagry expressway.

Fashola said “They (Petroleum Tanker Drivers) have assured me that in the next one week, things will change for the better. And we are accepting that from them. It is easier for the state to accept their commitment but if we do not see the change we expect, we know what to do on behalf of the residents. One business cannot disturb the other.”

He noted that this is only a temporary measure, saying “The Federal Government should also visit Apapa, to see the pains residents and owners of business are going through daily.”

The governor however blamed the congestion in Apapa partly on imported fuel saying “there are many questions we must ask ourselves.  Why is it that this is the only place where fuel is being distributed and it is distributed at so much pain? Where is the money made from the ports annually? I remember that we were told that these ports made N1.4 trillion in six months. Why is the money not reinvested in the port? About 3, 000 trucks load from the ports.

“I hope that the owners of the oil companies will also leave their desks and visit this place as a group, to see how they make profit and the cost of that on the citizens. And once they see this, there will also be more improvement,” Fashola added.

He lamented that many businesses have shutdown and thousands of people have been laid-off by their employers because they could no longer operate effectively.

The governor however appealed to the tanker drivers to transport their products at night, saying “It is easier to move at this time. This is another way to transport fuel without inflicting pain on the residents. Doing this, it will suit both residents and the fuel operators. When you do this, residents will have opportunity to do business. It is not about enforcement but about doing business with compassion.”

Tayo Aboyeji, south west public relations officer, of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, (PTD),who spoke during the governor’s visit, however named insecurity as the reason tankers could not move fuel at night, saying they often faced attacks by people who hijack their trucks.

BusinessDay