The National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has appealed to the Federal Government to secure fuel pipelines to enable the tankers move products from various depots across the country.
NARTO said that providing adequate security for the pipelines would enable the depots to operate at full capacity thereby reducing gridlocks in Apapa area.
NARTO Secretary, Aloga Ogbogo said on Wednesday in Lagos that most tank farms in Apapa have no holding bays for tankers on queue before loading products.
According to him, Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos attract more articulated vehicles which made them collection points for freight and petroleum products.
“These two ports attract more trucks to the area as result of the volume of cargoes coming into the country,’’ he said.
Ogbogo advised the government to be proactive in securing the pipelines to enable tankers have access to the various depots in various states instead of coming to Lagos to load fuel.
The Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, on Saturday assured Nigerians that the era of fuel scarcity had gone for good.
Baru said that the corporation had learnt a great lesson during the recent fuel scarcity in the country.
“We have actualised the lessons learnt, part of which is to ensure that at any point in time, there should be sufficient products available for distribution across the country.
“Most of our PPMC depots in Ejigbo, Mosinmi, Ibadan and other parts of the nation have sufficient product for distribution now.
“NNPC is discussing with security operatives to stop smuggling of petroleum products across our borders.
“We are working alongside with them to ensure safety of our pipelines because we still have some areas in which vandals still disrupt our pipelines,” Baru had said. (NAN)
