Lagos APC Cautions Tanker Drivers

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has cautioned tanker drivers in the state to be mindful of the safety of lives and properties of Lagosians as they carry out their normal businesses.

The party said that a situation where two tanker accidents will happen in a space of few days, inflicting horrendous damage on Lagosians is clearly worrisome and that tanker drivers must take extra caution to avoid a repeat of such horrible occurrences.

In a release in Lagos, signed by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Joe Igbokwe, the party said that the two tanker incidents at Iyana Ipaja and Idimu were just too many in a space of days and is worried that reoccurrence will be just too many for Lagos to handle.

The party sympathised with victims of the two fire incidents and urged them to bear their loss with equanimity.

“We deeply sympathise with innocent Lagosians who were victims of the tanker accidents in Iyana Ipaja and Idimu last week. We feel their pain and see their monumental loss as huge loss to Lagos. We are alarmed that Lagos witnessed two horrific accidents in a space of just few days and we believe something deliberate must be done by both the Lagos State government and the tanker drivers to ensure that such tragic incidences do not repeat themselves.

“While we applaud the new Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode for his quick and prompt response to the two incidents, we feel that the state cannot continue to undergo the tragic experiences of constant tanker fire incidents. The governor is currently meeting with the tanker drivers on these recurring incidences and we hope this meeting will curb the spates of incessant tanker fires in Lagos. We are happy that in both incidences, no life of any Lagosian was lost but we also regret that several properties valued at hundreds of millions of naira were destroyed in both incidences,” it said.

According to Igbokwe, “Lagos APC calls for stricter regulation of heavy duty vehicles plying Lagos streets in view of the recurring cases of tanker accidents in Lagos. We call that such vehicles be subjected by stricter checks to ascertain their status to ply Lagos roads. We call on the operators of tankers and haulage trucks to ensure that their vehicles are constantly maintained to prevent such ugly incidences as happened in Lagos last week.

“Once again, we commiserate with victims of the two tanker fire incidents and align with the pledge by Governor Ambode to ensure the victims are helped to go back to their normal lives in the shortest possible time.”