By Busola Samuel, Lagos
The Special Adviser to Lagos State Speaker Mudashiru Obasa on Political and Legislative Matters, Hon Mufutau Egberongbe, has renewed his call for the relocation of the tank farms in the Apapa area of Lagos state.
Egberongbe, who has been in the forefront of the agitation for the relocation of the farms since 2012 when he represented Apapa constituency 1 at the Lagos state House of Assembly, noted that residents living close to the sites no longer sleep well as a result of fear.
According to the former lawmaker, the sites where the tank farms are located were originally residential as planned by the government.
“These tank farms are highly combustible. You can imagine you living face-to-face with death everyday. We do not pray for any disaster in that area because it would be something the country would find it difficult to handle,” Egberongbe said in a press statement on Saturday.
Egberongbe further noted that the state government had been magnanimous enough to create a site for the tank farms at the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
He urged the government to make efforts for the effective relocation of the farms to avoid any impending disaster.
“Apart from the fact that the relocation of the tank farms would save the residents of the area that has now become heavily populated, it would also ease the Apapa Expressway of the terrible gridlock faced daily by motorists.
“It is very difficult inviting people to Apapa if you live in the area these days because anybody coming there should just be ready to have almost his entire day on the road.
“We complain about the state of the Apapa road that became a death trap for many months now, save for the intervention of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari now, but we should always know that the roads became another hell because of the activities of tanker drivers and the heavy duty vehicles entering and leaving Apapa daily.
“Recall that while I was serving at the Assembly, I even had to write a letter to then Governor Babatunde Fashola, who is fortunately the current minister in charge of works concerning the state of the Apapa road, but the truth is that it is the result of the activities of tankers.
If one of the tank farms is affected, the whole of Apapa would be up in flames. I am begging the federal government to do something urgent in this regard,” Egberongbe noted.
He pleaded with the government to revive the railway system in the area arguing that a rail tank can remove between five and 10 trucks from the road.
“It one rail tank can carry the same quantity of fuel that about 10 trucks would ordinarily carry, then imagine having 10 rail tanks to a train and how many trucks that would help remove from the road to save lives and man-hour spent on traffic daily.
“Apapa is also blessed with its closeness to the sea. So the government can also look at the opportunity of making use of badges for the transportation of products,” he suggested.
