23 February 2012, Sweetcrude, LAGOS – Lagos fuel tanker drivers have defied the 72-hour order of the Lagos State government to vacate the busy Apapa-Oshodi express way, setting the stage for a possible show down with the government.
The State Commissioner for Transportation, Kayode Opeifa, who issued the order, warned that the government would forcifully relocate the tankers if the drivers refused to act on the expiration of the order.
But as the order expired on Wednesday, the tankers still littered the road, causing traffic jam as usual.
While the tanker drivers are insisting on not leaving the spot, the state government has said there is no going back, insisting that “enough is enough of the menace of tanker drivers on Lagos roads and the killing of innocent people.”
Briefing newsmen shortly after meeting with the representatives of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Petrol Tankers Drivers (PTD) branch, the state Commissioner for Transportation, Kayode Opeifa, said it was possible for the tankers to leave the road without any stress, as most of the tank farms have the parking facility to accommodate at least 500 tankers in their loading bay.
“Between now and the expiration of the ultimatum (Wednesday), the state government expects union members to remove their tankers on their own volition, as the state government will be there on Thursday to monitor the removal exercise.”
Opeifa stated that government would be at the Apapa–Oshodi Expressway today immediately the ultimatum lapses by the midnight of Wednesday, to monitor the clean up.
