Union Urges FG To Provide Railways With Coaches

General Secretary, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Mr Elijah Okougbo, has called on the Federal Government to provide the railways with new coaches and locomotives.

Okougbo, who made the call on Tuesday in an interview with newsmen, said that this would help to ease the transportation of petroleum products.

The union scribe said that if the railway was resuscitated with new coaches, petroleum products could be transported through it without the tanker drivers facing challenges.

“Thousands of the tankers come to Lagos to load petroleum products because Kaduna and Warri refineries are not receiving crude oil as at when due.

“Tanker drivers have no parking space. Capital oil and the space in Orile-Iganmu can take about 500 tankers each while parking space in MRS Oil and Gas can take only 300 tankers,’’ he said.

He criticised the forcible removal of petroleum tankers from the Oshodi Apapa Expressway by the Lagos State Government.

Okougbo said that Lagos had about 40 tank farms that could store fuel, kerosene and diesel and if the tankers were not allowed to load in Lagos, it would be difficult for those in the other parts of the country to receive petroleum products.