NUPENG calls for repair of federal roads

National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Sunday urged the Federal Government to rehabilitate federal roads in the country, to ease transportation of petroleum products.

Tokunbo Korodo, the South-West chairman of the union, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Korodo said the rehabilitation would reduce unnecessary delay of petroleum tanker drivers, who lose a lot of time on the roads before getting products to their final destinations.

“Most of the federal roads plied by petroleum tankers have become death traps and this is causing a lot of accidents to our tanker drivers; Oshodi-Apapa Express Road, Okene-Lokoja and Owo-Akoko roads are in deplorable conditions.

“Government should ensure that all these roads are repaired this year to ease the movement of all vehicles plying the roads,” he said.

The chairman urged the Federal Government to strive harder to protect NNPC pipelines from vandals across the nation, saying this would return normal loading activities at all abandoned NNPC depots nationwide.

Korodo also urged the Federal Government to ensure job security for workers in the oil and gas industry and drastically reduce the issue of contract staffing.

The chairman said that the union would give adequate support to the government to make it succeed in its efforts to keep Nigerians smiling.

He urged the Department of Petroleum Resources to withdraw or cancel the licence of any independent marketers that tried to frustrate its efforts.

Maku calls for removal of immunity clause from Constitution

Former information minister Labaran Maku, on Sunday, called for the removal of immunity clause for elected executive officers from the country’s Constitution.

Maku, a gubernatorial candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Nasarawa State in 2015, made this call while fielding questions from newsmen in Wakama, Akun Development Area of the state.

He said the removal of the immunity clause would help tackle corruption and ensured good governance, and specifically advocated for the removal of the clause that protected the president, governors and local government council chairmen from facing prosecution in breach of office.

He said the immunity clause had created an umbrella for some state governors to tamper with their state resources, thereby leading to underdevelopment at the grassroots.

The former minister also advised Nigerians to pray for better things in the New Year as well as pray for permanent peace to reign in the country.

“Let us also pray for the peace of the country and give President Muhammadu Buhari the needed support and cooperation to enable him tackle the challenges facing the country.

“I believe that the immunity of state governors should be removed, no governor needs immunity and if it is removed, this will help to check fraud, corruption and mismanagement,’’ he said.