NUPENG faults MWUN over call for relocation of tank farms from Apapa

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NU­PENG) has reacted to recent statement credited to the President-General of the Mari­time Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Com. Tony Nted to gov­ernment to relocate tank farms from Apapa because of the traffic gridlock.

NUPENG said it does not want to join issues with the MWUN as it has the right to issue an ul­timatum to government on issues that affects its members.

In a statement issued by the NUPENG General Secretary, Isaac Aberare, he said what his union is frowning at is the demand of the relocation of tank-farms from Apa­pa and evacuation of petroleum tankers from the roads.

The traffic gridlock in Apapa, Ab­erare said, is caused by many factors, which include the heavy-laden contain­ers that ply the bad roads, with most of them falling off on vehicles causing traffic jams with deaths recorded.

These trucks and trailers plying the Apapa ports daily causing gridlock on the already bad road, according to the NUPENG president, is virtually on all roads in Lagos and that has not given rise to demand that all vehicles must be evacuated.

“NUPENG states that for the mari­time union to blame the tankers going to load fuel at the tank farms as the cause of the gridlock is a misnomer. The petroleum tanker driver’s branch of NUPENG has their internal vehicle inspection officers who make sure that the vehicles are orderly in the tank farm areas to load petroleum products.

“They have even devised a means of using the GSM to alert those whose turn are next to load instead of all of them crowding the area.

“The vehicle inspectors’ officers, VIOs, make sure that the tank­ers are in good order that is why you hardly see any breakdown on the high­way, except containerised trucks com­ing from the ports.

“The union therefore rejects the accusation that petroleum tankers are solely responsible for the gridlock,” Aberare said.

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