The lingering fuel crisis across the country may be worsened following the threat by the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) to stop work as a result of bad roads.
The drivers who issued the threat on Wednesday called on federal government to repair the bad roads in the country before the raining season.
According to the statement issued to that effect in Abuja by Head Media Relations PTD, Mr Abdulkadir Garba, PTD National Chairman, Comrade Salimon Oladiti, said the boycott might affect the smooth supply and distribution of petroleum products to some parts of the country.
The statement reads: ”Despite the visit by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the road leading to the Tatabu Bridge is still in a deplorable state, stretching from Jebba to Mokwa, where trucks spend days on the road.
”We therefore call on the Federal Government to expedite action on repairing the road, because with the onset of the rain soon, the situation will totally be out of control.
”Some of the bad roads identified must be repaired as Tanker Drivers cannot do anything to assuage the suffering of Nigerians under the circumstance.
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”Already, some roads are by-passed to Mosimi to demonstrate that PTD is ready to work 24 hours to ensure smooth supply of products across the country.
”However, unless something is done to stem the tide of tankers breaking down or upturned, the situation will be difficult and the union will be left with no choice than to boycott some of the bad roads.”
Commending the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for pumping petroleum products through the system Two- B, Oladiti said it had helped to bridge fuel products to the North and other parts of the country through Ibadan- Mosimi and Ejigbo depots as well as Warri-Calabar-Aba depots, while waiting for the commencement of Ilorin-Ore depots among others.
”We support the use of other depots outside Lagos as a way of decongesting the gridlock in Apapa and easing the problem of fuel scarcity and that where this method as well as the system Two-B is sustained.
”The perennial problem of fuel scarcity will soon be a thing of the past,” he said.
