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Tanker drivers behave
with impunity
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The Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar, has identified impunity
as one of the major habits responsible for the chaos on the highways, stating
that as human beings, drivers must show consideration to other road users.
The Sultan stated this
while receiving the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC,
Boboye Oyeyemi, and the National Chairman of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD)
division of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural GAS Workers (NUPENG),
Salimon Oladiti, who were on a courtesy visit to his Palace in Sokoto.
According to Press Release published in PREMIUM TIMES:
Mr. Abubakar described
rampart cases of petroleum tanker crashes in the country, especially in the
last few weeks as “worrisome,” admonishing drivers to always obey traffic rules
and regulations, instead of operating with impunity. He further stated that for
stability to rein in any society, the people must be prepared to obey law,
adding that no one should operate as if above the law of the land.
“No one should be above
the law,” he stated.
“People must learn to
respect law, and violators must be punished accordingly. That is the only way
to ensure stability on the road and security in the society generally,” he
further stated.
Mr. Saad described the
collaboration between the FRSC and PTD as well as other transport unions as a
positive development, stressing that such partnership could enhance effective
traffic management and orderliness on the road. He, however, frowned at the
practice of blocking the road by some tanker drivers who engage in the act at
the slightest provocation, noting that every grievance could be settled
amicably, if there is trust and understanding between the law enforcement
agents and the drivers.
He further advocated
defensive driving technique as a way of resolving some of the chaos noticed on
the highways, saying that if every driver sees only himself as the same person
on the road and considers others as mad people, there would be orderliness on
the road. Sultan Saad called for understanding between law enforcers and
drivers, and appealed for restraint while dealing with the drivers as some of
drivers may be operating under tensed conditions.
“When there is trust and
understanding between the law enforcers and drivers, orderliness can easily be
restored on the road. That is why I support this collaboration between the FRSC
and PTD. The partnership provides opportunity for interaction and mutual
resolution of conflicts for safety, security and stability of the society,” the
Sultan further stated.
Earlier, the Corps
Marshal briefed the Sultan on the traffic situations in the country,
particularly the perennial crashes involving petroleum tankers, which claimed
about 60 lives in the last two weeks. He stressed that the FRSC was conscious
of the challenging nature of the year, and therefore embarked on early
consultative meetings with relevant stakeholders on how to make the year crash
free right from the beginning of the year. He further explained that the
consultations were on when the first crash occurred in Onitsha, Anambra state.
According to him, with
the huge loss recorded in the crash, he immediately called a meeting of the leadership
of petroleum tanker drivers’ union and other relevant stakeholders where some
resolutions on how to avert re-occurrence were taken, noting, however, that
with the incidents at Idimu and Iyana Ipaja in Lagos State, he had to further organize
a national summit on haulage operations where a plan of action was drawn by the
stakeholders for implementation.
“At the summit, all the
relevant stakeholders were in attendance, and the representative of the
Governor of Lagos state was equally present, because we consider Lagos as a
strategic partner in the campaign, being the host to most of the petroleum tank
farms in the country.
“Members of the executive
of PTD are having their National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting here in
Sokoto, and due to the importance we attach to their role in the campaign, I
have to travel down to participate in the programme. That is why I am here with
the National Chairman,” Mr. Oyeyemi stated.
In his own remarks, the
PTD Chairman thanked the Sultan for the audience given to them, stating that it
was a demonstration of the love he has for the people and road users in
particular. Mr. Salimon further stressed that with the new awakening in the
membership of the union, coupled with the ongoing collaboration with the FRSC
and other security agencies, tanker crashes in the country would soon be a
thing of the past.
The Corps Marshal and PTD
National Chairman were accompanied on the visit by some principal officers of
the FRSC and members of the executive of PTD.
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