Tankers drivers vow to sustain indefinite strike over collapsed East-West road

Sequel to the collapse of a portion of East-West road by the Aleto-Eleme axis in Eleme in Eleme local government area of Rivers State, the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union in Rivers state has again declared an indefinite strike untill the authorities fix the failed of portion of the trunk A federal road.

The Chairman of the union, Charles Aleto, called on the relevant federal and state government agencies to urgently intervene to fix the dangerous ditch before the bridge near the Ukulu River.

He vowed that untill that is done, no drop of petroleum products will be lifted as no tanker driver would want to risk his life, products and other motorists.

Acting President Yemi Osibanjo came to commission Indoroma Petrochemical Company, Eleme, the largest fertilizer plant about two weeks ago, (its products are conveyed on that road), the oil and gas free zone, the two Port Harcourt refineries, the Onne Ports and others.

Tanker drivers said the eventual collapse of the road will not only affect the economy of the nation, it will also cut off the inhabitants of the area to the rest of the state and country.

Meanwhile, the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, through the Assitant Corps Commander, Arinze Igwe, not only confirmed the existence of the wide ditch. He, however, said his officers and men had been drafted to the area.

According to Arinze Igwe, “The spot on the road has collapsed. We have deployed our men to the area. And we have put traffic code and caution signs in the affected area and we are diverting traffic to avert unforeseen circumstances and loss of lives. We will remain here until the spot is fixed.”

The Petroleum Tanker Drivers in state embarked on strike in July to protest against the state of the road. But due to the intervention of Governor Nyesom Wike, the strike was called off.

Eyewitnesses have described the bridge as the conduit which takes almost all vehicles, trucks and tankers coming from Trailer Park-Eleme Junction axis of the East-West Road to companies around Eleme and Onne.

They lamented that with this development, Aleto community has been invariably cut off from Akpajo and other parts of the world, regretting that the only way left for the people to communicate with the outside world would be through the Okrika waterways.

They blame the present and previous Federal Government for the collapsed bridge, alleging that if the government paid priority attention to the total rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Eleme-Onne section of the East-West Road, the Omu Okulu bridge in Aleto, constructed in 1964, would not have collapsed.

Also speaking, Mike Ngofa, prominent resident of Eleme regretted the collapse of the Omu Okulu Aleto bridge linking the community to some Eleme communities.He challenged the Federal Government to immediately put urgent measures in place to rehabilitate the bridge, and the entire stretch of the East-West Road, from Eleme Junction Interchange in Obio/Akpor to Onne Junction in Eleme Local Government Area.

He noted that as a federal highway leading to some major federal industrial complexes, such as Port Harcourt Refinery, Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone, Naval College, Intels, Notore Fertiliser Company, the government ought to have taken the rehabilitation of the road and bridge seriously.

The caving-in of the Okulu Aleto bridge has left a dangerous trap on the major federal highway, stressing that most travellers to and from Ogoni, Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni communities in Rivers State as well as Akwa Ibom State would now find it difficult to have access to their destinations.

He also complained that most people who work in companies located around the Eleme-Onne axis of the East-West Road may have difficulty going to work, following the caving-in of the bridge.

The partial collapse of the Aleto-Eleme bridge has been described as shame on Nigerians civil engineers who were part of the team that designed and constructed the bridge.

They, therefore, called on the Federal Government to take urgent measures to save the bridge from total collapse.

The Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) had carried out repair work on the bridge following discovery of weaknesses on certain sections of the bridge.

Further checks show that vehicular traffic has been redirected to the Agbonchia-Oyigbo link road, hitherto abandoned by motorists following persistent attacks and kidnapping attributed to suspected Fulani herdsmen.

TheAgbonchia section of the link road also has another bridge across the Okulu river, which flows through Aleto to Okrika. As at the time of this report, last night, most vehicles plying the road were having difficulty crossing to the other side of the road, through the only section of the bridge left.

No doubt, the strike by the tanker drivers would have a telling effect on the economic and social lives of the people of the state and its environs as the two Port Harcourt Refineries and major Tank farms are located in Eleme and Onne.