Another round of PMS scarcity expected, as over 800 petrol tanker drivers get stranded in Lagos

If the claim by Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD,
Association is anything to go by, there is likely to be another round of
scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, otherwise known as
petrol, as most tankers are currently stranded in Lagos due to
unavailability of the product in Apapa depots.
Comrade Tayo Aboyeji, South West Public Relations Officer of
PTD, raised the alarm yesterday, while commenting on the influx of
tankers along Oshodi‑Apapa Expressway, despite the presence of
special taskforce comprising men of the Lagos State Traffic
Management Authority, LASTMA.
*Traffic congestion on the Berger axis of Oshodi-Apapa
expressway due to reconstruction of the road
It will be recalled that PTD earlier said that it had commenced
move to check further movement of tankers, especially from northern
parts into Lagos for awhile as part of measure to reduce the traumatic
traffic gridlock in Apapa axis
Aboyeji lamented that due to lack of the products at the depots in
Apapa, tanker drivers, numbering over 800, had remained at a spot
for about two days now, worsening the chaotic traffic situation in
Apapa area and environs while more tankers were still heading for
Lagos.
According to PTD’s spokesman, “The information reaching us is that
there is no more products to dispense at the depots. The only depot still
discharging is Capitol Oil which will soon be out of stock. This can
lead to another scarcity of the product in the next few days if the
product is not available soonest.
“Some of the tanker drivers are also on hunger strike as most of them
who arrived about five days ago waiting to load had been out of cash
to feed and are now begging for food in Lagos as they did not expect to
spend up to two days.”
According to Aboyeji, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,
NNPC, had not been truthful on the current fuel situation.
“NNPC has been issuing out tickets to dealers to come to Lagos to
load even when they knew that there are no enough products to go
round. Now, without any parking space provided, our members are
stranded and will have to wait for the next consignment to arrive and
load before going back to their various destinations.
“That is why you see the large number increasing by the day. If there
are enough products to load, all these tankers you are seeing would
have reduced drastically but Lagos is the only state discharging
product as directed by NNPC.
“Like I said earlier, the on‑going construction of Oshodi-Apapa road
by Julius Berger has compounded the traffic situation. We implore
citizens to appeal to NNPC to do the needful and save the nation
from unnecessary hardship.”
Aboyeji, however, told Vanguard that an emergency meeting had been
summoned by the leadership of the union to quickly assess and address
the situation before it gets out of hand.

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