Hector Igbikiowubo, Ben Agande and Victor Ahiuma-Young
24 July 2008
Lagos — THE Federal Government, yesterday, barred 16 tank farms in Lagos from using the bays to take delivery of imported petroleum products on account of the traffic jam caused by articulated tankers loading from the affected depots.
But reacting, some of the tank farm operators while showing understanding over government's frustrations and the circumstances leading up to the action said it had implications for petroleum product availability and employment.
Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, Minister of Transportation and Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State told State House correspondents at the end of yesterday's meeting of the Federal Executive Council that the move was part of the recommendations of the committee set up to look into ways of decongesting Federal access roads.
They spoke as the Dockworkers branch of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) issued a seven-day strike notice to the Transport Minister, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and other agencies to prevail on private jetty owners to pay their (workers') severance benefits following government's concession of the ports. They threatened to go on strike if their demands were not met.
The suspended tank farms were said to have failed to meet the minimum conditions and requirements for provision of holding bay and associated facilities. Twenty two tank farms that meet the operational guidelines and provisions of requisite Holding Bays are to be allowed to continue to operate.
Although the tank farms affected by the decision were not mentioned, tank farms in the Apapa area worst hit by the traffic jam include those operated by Obat, MRS, Ascon, Everest, Sahara, Folawiyo, Total, Capital, Integrated, Ibeto, Ibafon, Zenon, Wabeco, Sigmund, Eurafric, Techno Oil, Aquitaine, Honeywell among others.
It was gathered that the companies operating in the area have a combined installed capacity in excess of 600,000 metric tonnes.
The committee recommended a three phase approach to the decongestion of the Federal access roads.
Govt to re-acquire Right of Way on Oshodi-Apapa road
Under the first phase which is for immediate implementation, the committee recommended that government should clear, secure and re-acquire the Federal Government Right of Way (ROW) on major roads leading to the ports; coordinated and stricter use of Authority to Load (ATL) issued by the Terminal Operators and introduction of some basic traffic management measures.
The physical demarcation of secured ROW, redressing and re-development of some of the access and approach roads to Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports, the commencement of the Port Novo Trailer park near Tin-Can island as well as monitoring and enforcing government policy guidelines on provision of service bays by the tank farm owners on major highways en-route Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports is the crux of the recommendation for the second phase which is also hailed as short term solution.
The third phase which is a long term approach recommended the creation and use of alternate modes of transportation, in particular the use of the rail network by tank farms along Dockyard Road , Apapa; construction of additional Trailer parks on Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis and institutionalization of traffic control to the ports.
According to Mrs. Allison-Madueke, the construction of new tank farms in the vicinity of the Lagos ports have been banned until further notice, while drivers of articulated tankers who go to load petroleum products constitute a nuisance by congesting access roads to the ports.
She said the suspension would be in effect until the operators of such tank farms build their independent holding bays to accommodate vehicles meant to take products from them.
On his part, Governor Fashola said other measures put in place before now had been defied by drivers of the articulated vehicles.
He said the suspension of the tank farms was to check accidents being recorded on Lagos roads as a result of the activities of the tank farms.
The Governor and the minister of Transportation were excused to address state house correspondents before the end of the meeting in order to allow Fashola return to Lagos .
Also speaking on the development, a senior management staff of one of the companies operating in the area said most of the trucks that cause the traffic jam come from outside the state to load products.
"Some of us have taken the pains to build our own truck parks at great cost because we are in this business for the long haul and would not want to do anything to jeopardise our operations.
Even the Lagos state government is well aware of our efforts and have been in talks with NUPENG, NARTO and DAPPMA," he disclosed.
Other decisions taken by the council yesterday was the award of N993Million contract for the construction and upgrade of facilities at the University of Nigeria Nsukka in preparation for the hosting of the 2009 Nigeria University Games Association games in the two campuses of the university at Enugu and Nsukka.
Port workers issue strike notice
There are fears that if nothing is done to dissuade aggrieved dockworkers from carrying out their threat, it could disrupt the fragile peaceful industrial atmosphere and paralyes business operations in the nation's ports.
Leaders of the dockworkers said members would no longer tolerate alleged refusal of some private jetty owners especially Standard Mills jetty to pay members their severance benefits close to two years since colleagues in the main ports were paid and would down tools to protest the non-payment of severance benefits to members in some of private jetties.
Leaders of the dockworkers have, therefore, called on the Transport Minister, the management of NPA and all other relevant agencies including NIMASA to prevail on the management of Standard Mills jetty and others to pay members their severance benefits within the next seven days to avoid industrial crisis in the ports.
President of the dockworkers branch of MWUN, Comrade Emmanuel Nted, told journalists in Lagos that the union had intimated all relevant government agencies about the impending industrial crisis because all efforts at making the management of Standard Flour Mills jetty to pay the affected workers yielded no positive result.
Nted said the union, therefore, resolved that the only option left for dockworkers was to stop work in sympathy and solidarity with the affected workers because an injury to one is an injury to others.
According to him, "government paid all the affected dockworkers in the main ports their severance benefits and directed all the private jetty owners to pay the dockworkers under them as part of the concessioning of the ports.
Most of the private jetties have paid. But the likes of Standard Flour Mills jetties have refused to pay. We have held series of meetings with them, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and even Police to ensure that this matter is resolved amicably, all to no avail."
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