Posted by By Paul Sanusi, Eromosele Ebhomele & Damola Ogundimu on
For several hours this morning, motorists plying the Maryland-Yaba route were held in traffic as a tanker believed to be owned by Conoil, a petroleum company, fell, spilling its contents across the road.
For several hours this morning, motorists plying the Maryland-Yaba route were held in traffic as a tanker believed to be owned by Conoil, a petroleum company, fell, spilling its contents across the road.
The incident, which was believed to have occurred at about 4.30 a.m., allegedly resulted when the tanker driver lost control of the vehicle after hitting the Bus Rapid Transit(BRT) lane. The tanker, with registration number XP 978 JJJ, was believed to be conveying diesel out of Lagos, when the incident occurred.
When P.M.News got to the scene of the incident, men of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), were seen evacuating the vehicle while its contents were being loaded into another tanker belonging to Conoil Nigeria Limited. Also, officials of the State Fire Service were on stand-by to curb any eventuality.
Speaking at the scene of the incident, the Zonal Secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and National Gas Workers (NUPENG), Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, blamed government for banning the movement of tankers during the day.
Korodo said the incident was as a result of government's insincerity to the plight of fuel tanker drivers, who were part of those who fought for the enactment of democracy in the country.
'When the Lagos state government subjected us to night movement, and there are no street lights to cater for such movement, you would expect such a thing. This is the time for government to quickly address this issue because we cannot fold our hands and watch our drivers being subjected to such treatment,' Korodo told P.M.News.
According to the union leader, in other advanced countries, there are signs which help to direct drivers who ply the roads. He said his organisation had severally complained to the government, as even armed robbers now attack tanker drivers, off-load the products and sell them.'
While expressing confidence in the effectiveness of tanker drivers, he said since the night movement started, there has been increase in tanker accidents.
According to him, 'at least three accidents occur per day, and coupled with the bad road, you can see that out of the three lanes, one has been carved out for the BRT and there are no signs to direct first comers to the state. There is not enough security or enlightenment for those coming for the first time. Moreover, we don't want to be seen as being against the present democracy.'