By Akpokona Omafuaire

EKPAN—FEAR of petrol tanker explosions and the horrid consequences have engrossed the residents of Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government Area, Delta State, following the arbitrary parking by tanker drivers, especially at NigerCat road and environs, off the Nigeria Port Authority, NPA expressway.

Residents, who spoke to Niger Delta Voice, said they were afraid because of the manner the drivers drive and park their tankers in the area given the recent incidents at Lagos, Onitsha and other parts of the country.

Tanker drivers don’t respect other road users

According to Mr. Moses Pedro, “There is a tanker park in Ekpan, but most drivers do not like going into the park, obviously they are doing that because they are in a hurry to get to the loading depot to load their products. “But most times, as a resident of the area said, is that the tanker drivers drive recklessly and not minding that there are other road users, you see them dragging the road with other road users and they use their huge size to push the smaller vehicles off the road most times.”

“The drivers do not seem to have respect for other  drivers, they drive the way they like and because the products they carry are inflammable, smaller vehicle drivers avoid them, thereby putting them into great inconveniences most times. This is why we are scared that we may have horrible incidents because of what had happened in other parts of the country,” he said.

Govt should call them to order

His words, “I have a feeling that if government gives an order,   tanker drivers will comply because over the years when Delta State government is expecting the President or other high powered delegations,   it issued warning to the tanker drivers to clear the road of tankers and within the stipulated time, you will not see tankers on the road. But as soon as the visit ends, you will see them coming into the road again.”

“Therefore, if the government can give an order like the case of Lagos, where the Lagos state government gave a 48- hour ultimatum for tankers to be evacuated from the road and they complied, a similar instruction should be given to the Ekpan tanker drivers to properly park off the road and into the provided tankers park.

“They should be directed not to park along the NigerCat road too because they are the ones who destroyed that road with their tankers, they should also be monitored and not just given the instruction,” he said. Pedro insisted, “The tanker drivers were the people who destroyed the road with their heavy tankers; this led to the collapse of the road. Today, they are running away from the road because it is in bad shape and are now parking indiscriminately along the express road; this portends great danger to other road users.”

Way out- Bebenimibo, Amromahwe, others

Chair of Peak Table Waters, Delta state, Comrade Paul Bebenimibo and Delta state coordinator, Special Marshal, FRSC, Road Safety Commission, Mr. Dickson Amromahwe and others suggested how the state government could prevent calamity in the area. According to Bebenimibo,   “When the sad incident in Onitsha and Lagos occurred, what came into my mind was that residents of NigerCat area are sitting on a keg on gun powder as far as petrol tanker explosion is concerned with regards to Ekpan Tankers Park.

Presently, the road that leads to the tankers park is in a very bad shape, the attitude of drivers parking indiscriminately is another source of concern, leadership of tanker drivers not taking charge of the control of the actions of the drivers is also an issue”. Bebenimibo said that to avert this looming danger, government should   hasten up and address the poor state of the road and also call the leadership of the tanker drivers’ unit of NUPENG to order by interfacing with them on some safety steps to take while they are doing their work.

Fuel Tanker

He said, “Due to the bad road, residents are finding it increasingly difficult accessing their homes now, it becomes worse whenever there is a downpour, it is usually over flooded and residents have to park far off from their homes, irrespective of your car, be it SUV or a small car.”

“Because of the continued suffering occasioned by the road, some persons are parking out and relocating to more accessible areas to stay. It is a very big community of residents, so there is an urgent need by government to take care of that road.”

  FRSC’ll go hard of tanker drivers- Amromahwe

FRSC’s Dickson Amromahwe said in a radio programme in Warri that tanker drivers should avert any act that would lead to loss of life by taking all safety precautions and have value for life of others. He also warned tanker drivers parking indiscrimi-nately along the expressway to desist from such act, insisting that their action was making life unbearable and of great concern to the FRSC.

Amromahwe also suggested that tanker driver should drive at night and early mornings to avert accidents. He also warned tankers drivers to abstain from taking drugs and hard drinks before and while driving. He stated that his commission would go hard on offenders to serve as deterrent to would -be offenders.

 Residents blame tanker drivers

A resident of the area, Mr.Ogaga Oluku, described the activities of the tanker drivers as worrisome, saying, “The tanker drivers are the real cause of the damaged road at a time, residents contributed to sand fill the road but it did not last. If only the Chairman could prevail on his members to stop using the back gate where government gave them to use and use and only the front gate, it will help to save the road from further damage.

Why we don’t use tankers’ park

A tanker driver, who simply identified himself as Anthony said: “We are not happy to be parking on the road side, what is happening is that we have been forced to do it. “The road to the tankers park is in terrible shape. If one is not careful, your tanker can cause severe accident, it can even lead to explosion if the tanker is loaded.”

He explained that tanker drivers were willing to make use of the park, but the road leading to the park was not motorable, which was why tanker drivers park along the road.   Anthony admitted that many tanker drivers take drugs and drink heavily, but is out of frustration, as they had to wait endlessly and sometimes sleep under the tankers for days before getting the chance to load. He, however, pleaded with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to complete the ongoing repair of the park and fix the road.