By Ebun Sessou

Lagos—The Lagos House of Assembly has said, it wont be able to legislate against trucks and tanker drivers who park on Apapa/Oshodi expressway.

The House through its Chairman House committee on works and infrastructure, Rotimi Olowo, said, the fact that the road belongs to federal government makes it impossible to make law that would stop the trucks from parking on the road.

The House gave directives last week that trucks parked at Lagos Apapa/Oshodi expressway be removed with immediate effect.

Olowo, who is representing Somolu constituency 1, explained, that, it is regrettable that the FG has not taken any concrete step to correct the situation, in spite of all the interventions made  by the state government to finding lasting solution to the problem.

He said, the attitude of the drivers who practically park on the road is disgusting adding that they are too unruly and the only way they can be curtailed is to engage the various stakeholders including NUPENG, depot owners and petrol marketers to draw up a schedule and list of tanker drivers on weekly basis such that loading on a daily basis wouldn’t be a problem.

According to him, Lagosians especially those who live and work in that area have been put under unnecessary hardship that have affected both individual and the State’s economy, trade and business. Adding that, it is imperative that all stakeholders should live up to expectations.

“When we gave the directives, it implies that the tanker drivers should reorganize, reschedule themselves, reschedule their loading, park at the designated stations and when they are called upon, they should always be on a single line and not on two or three lanes such that other vehicles drivers would be given way,” he noted.

Asked if, the directives would be acknowledged by truck and tanker drivers, he said, “Nigerians will only comply if they are forced to do so.’’

On the issue of approval of tank farms by state officials, he said, while building a new tank farm is capital incentive, it will be difficult to dismantle and relocate the existing ones.

According to him, “Already there is a plan to build Lekki free zone and Dangote is proposing a refinery and a depot which will be completed by 2016. Therefore, taking those tank farms and depots to another place is a total waste of resources. ‘’