Lagos govt descends on tanker drivers on Apapa-Oshodi Expressway

Posted by admin Headlines, Lagos, State News Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

With a view to putting an end to the act of parking trucks on the Apapa-Oshodi expressway, the Lagos State government has swooped on oil tanker drivers who have cultivated the habit of parking their vehicles on the road.

After the 72-hour ultimatum given by the state government for all tankers to be removed from the expressway expired on the midnight of Wednesday, there was anticipation regarding what the government’s next line of action would be.

When the Nigerian Tribune visited that section of the expressway, workers of the state’s Ministry of Transport and Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA), as well as Vehicle Inspection Officers, armed police officers and members of the Committee for the Removal of Abandoned and Disused Vehicles, among others, were spotted trying to ensure that trailers parked on the way were removed.

It was also discovered that apprehension was high, owing to the fact that the state Ministry of Transport came with many towing vehicles, which suggested that all trucks parked on the road would be forcefully towed away.

Though the Nigerian Tribune, as of the time of writing this report, could not confirm if any truck was eventually towed away, many workers of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) were seen trying to control the movement of their trucks with a view to ensuring that they were not parked on the roadside as the old practice was.

This situation subsequently led to a notable reduction in the number of tankers parked on the way, especially at the Otto-Whorf section of the road.

One of such workers, Mr Adetokunbo Adewale, disclosed to the Nigerian Tribune that it was not all the trucks parked on the way that had been deliberately parked there, insisting that the time it took for each tanker to be filled was also a contributing factor to the menace.

-Tribune

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