NUPENG Blames Tanker Accidents On Poor State Of Roads

The incessant tanker ac
cidents across Nigerian roads have been attributed to the conditions of roads.
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) stated this in Port Harcourt at a training workshop organised by the union for tanker drivers.
At the workshop with the theme, “Safe Driving, Accidents Effects and Prevention,” the National President of NUPENG, Mr Igwe Achese, decried the situation in which pot holes and gullies on the roads remain unattended to and urged Federal Government to as a matter of urgency fix the roads to reduce the high rate of accidents on the roads.
He particularly urged President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration which promised Nigerians positive change to take steps towards ensuring that his change mantra reflects on the roads.
Achese said, the nature of our roads is a real contributory factor to tanker accidents which we are experiencing. It is unfortunate that we are expecting change to have effect on our roads, but that has not been realised and this is over one year.
“We are still confident that change will come, but it should have impacted on the road infrastructure. We are also happy that the budget has been approved; its implementation is what we are watching and how it is going to have impact on the roads which we use daily.”
The union leader regretted that when accidents that involve union member’s truck occur it leads sometimes to loses of member’s lives and also losts of property.
“So, we decided to ask ourselves questions too on what are the causes of these accidents as a result, we decided to have driving training for our drivers,” he said.
The National Chairman of Petroleum Tanker Drivers, Mr Salimon Oladiti, said the essence of the training was how to change the attitude of tanker drivers on the road.
He said, tanker drivers were not reckless while driving on the roads as commonly believed by some persons in the society, but that other challenges confronting them on the roads were responsible for the accidents.
Participants commended the union for the training and expressed confidence that it would impact positively on them, particularly in reducing the rate of road accidents involving the union members.

Chris Oluoh