Lagos traffic wahala set to disappear as NRC trains enter oil transport business
Lagos hellish traffic is about to disappear, or so we are made to believe.
Experts say tanker drivers share part of the blame for the traffic wahala Lagos residents go through.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) said it has now grown enough muscles to take most of the tankers off Lagos roads.
NRC will be moving petroleum products from various tank farms in Lagos to all parts of Nigeria, the corporation says.
The development would create at least 1500 jobs, the NRC says.
It could also, an expert told Newsroom on Wednesday, result in a massive job loss in the “tanker driving industry.”
That will not deter the NRC which is now holding talks with oil marketers to begin the shift.
“We are moving petroleum products from Lagos to Kano, we are equally moving cement from Lafarge Company to all parts of the world,” NRC spokesperson Mr. Abdulraouf Akinwoye told local media.
“We have gone into discussion with oil marketers to let them know and have the belief that we have all it takes to move petroleum products from tank farms in Lagos to all parts of the country.
“To really ensure total success of all our programmes that informed the ongoing recruitment exercise, to have the necessary workforce especially among the young folks, that’s the junior staff and what we are doing has been so transparent.”
Aside helping Lagos solve its traffic wahala, the move (if allowed to continue) will create at least 1500 new jobs in the railway sector.
The NRC said it is currently recruiting 1500 junior staff across the country to enable the initiative go on.
Lagos motorists and commuters, who have been going through hellish traffic this week, will certainly welcome the development.
Lagos Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who has been heavily criticised for not dealing with the traffic wahala, should be smiling at the sight of the new development.
