As a lasting solution to delays in loading petroleum products and the consequent congestion of Apapa and environs, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has urged the Federal Government to pump fuel through pipelines to other depots.
Stating that over 300 petrol tankers were presently waiting to load at the Apapa depot in Lagos, the Chairman of NUPENG (South-West), Tokunbo Korodo, said the delay in getting the products to different locations nationwide could lead to product scarcity.
He lamented that the System 2B pipelines that used to send products to Mosinmi, Ejigbo, Ibadan, Ilorin and Ore depots has been idle for the past eight months, contrary to claims by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that it had resumed loading of petroleum products in all its depots nationwide.
Speaking in Lagos yesterday on the sideline of the ongoing national safety training programme for petroleum tanker drivers, Korodo urged the Federal Government to forestall the impending nation-wide petrol scarcity by making forex available to petrol importers.
He noted that most of the depots in Apapa were loading diesel because it is more lucrative now, adding that of the over 50 depots in Apapa, fewer than nine were loading petrol.
“Nigerians may experience another fuel scarcity if the present situation is not handled well by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),” online platform, Ships & Ports, cited him as saying.
– Authority
