The Petroleum Tanker Drivers Branch (PTD) of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has commended the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s renewed commitment to ensuring motorable federal highways across the country.
The union said it was optimistic that repairs and reconstruction of roads across the nation would stabilize fuel supply and distribution.
The PTD-NUPENG gave the commendation as part of its resolutions at the end of its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, over the weekend.
In a communique issued and sent to DAILY POST on Monday by Comrades Augustine Egbon and Oluchi Chinagorom, National Chairman and National Secretary of the union, respectively, it was noted that the commendation was sequel to the recent approval of 13 road projects across the country by the Federal Executive Council at the end of its meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The union said the rehabilitation of Enugu-Port Harcourt, the Ore-Ondo-Akure Road, 300 km Benin-Akure-Ilesha, and the rehabilitation of the Aba-Owerri and Mubi-Maiduguri road sections, amongst others, are strategic to the equitable distribution of fuel across the country, as tankers could move with ease.
The PTD-NUPENG noted that the rehabilitation of the roads would go a long way to ensure the safety of its members on the highways and ensure uninterrupted supply of petroleum products from the depots to the retail outlets.
“We recall that our agitations and several interventions to ensure that the last administration put the federal highways in good shape only fell on deaf ears. The effects of the bad shape of the highways were accidents, leading to the loss of lives of our members and their trucks, their only means of livelihood.
“We can’t but express our satisfaction that the present administration is already taking positive steps to meet some of our grievances.
“We implore the Federal Ministry of Works to ensure that the contractors move to sites timely and give Nigerians the value for the public funds being spent by the federal government to put the roads in good shape.”
