Friday Amobi, Port-Harcourt
Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers has attributed the incessant tanker accidents in the country to the poor condition of the nation’s roads.
NUPENG also urged the Federal Government to ensure that its change agenda was reflected on the roads in the country.
The union said this in Port Harcourt during a day training organised by the union for tanker drivers, tagged, ‘Safe Driving, Accident Effects and Prevention’.
Speaking, the National President of NUPENG, who doubles as the Deputy President of Nigerian Labour Congress, Mr. Igwe Achese, said that most of the tanker accidents were caused by pot holes and gullies that had been left unaddressed.
Igwe asserted that if roads were fixed, the number of accidents recorded would reduce drastically.
The union leader urged government at all levels to take fixing of road as a major priority, adding that such would reduce road mishaps.
He, however, enjoined tanker drivers to change their attitudes on the usage of the roads.
“You are all aware we have had series of issues about accidents that involve our trucks. When such accidents occur, sometimes, the impact leads to loss of lives and property. So we decided to ask ourselves questions too on what are the causes of these accidents. So we decided to have driving training for our drivers.
“The nature of our roads is a real contributory factor to tanker accidents which we are experiencing. It is unfortunate that we are expecting change to have effect on our roads, but that has not been realised and this is over one year.
“We are still confident that change will come, but it should have impact on the road infrastructure. We are also happy that the budget has been approved; its implementation is what we are watching and how it is going to have impact on the roads which we use daily.”
Similarly, the National Chairman of Petroleum Tankers Drivers, Mr. Salimon Oladiti, disclosed that the training was targeted at changing the attitude of tanker drivers on the road.
“The training of the tankers drivers is so much important; it will help to change the attitude of our drivers on the usage of our roads. Those who have passed through it are all happy.
“Tanker drivers are not reckless while driving on the road as commonly believed by some persons,” he added.
Meanwhile, one of the tanker drivers who was also a participant in the training, Mr. Sunday Benjamin, thanked the national body of NUPENG for the training, stressing that it would impact positively on the drivers.
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