Fumes and Fear: NPA Road Residents, Business Owners in Warri Raise Alarm Over Suspected Illegal Oil BunkeringResidents, Traders, Shop Owners and Commuters within the neighborhood of the old NPA road in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State have decried the rising wave of alleged illegal bunkering activities at the vicinity.The respondents, in separate interviews with our correspondent, called on the relevant authorities to come to their rescue.Mr Eshegbe Okonta, a motor spare parts dealer said that though the illicit activities had been going on for a very long time but at a minimal level.Okonta, however, said that the development took a new twist last month when trucks started flooding the area for the illegal transaction.”Since last month, this NPA road has been flooded with trucks waiting to load illegal products. It wasn’t as bad as this before now.”They usually bring them from the creeks in the night for the trucks to load,” he said.A business owner, Mr Morrison Otabor said that about 30 trucks could line up at a time waiting to load.”The irony of the matter is that the trucks have no number plates, suspectedly as a way of disguise,” he said.On her part, Mrs Susan Destiny said that the perpetrators always convey the products with barges at night, and berth at the Milan waterside jetty, and utilizing hosepipe to connect to a waiting truck.Mrs Destiny appealed to the relevant authorities to intervene, noting that the unwholesome practices was exposing the environment to danger.”What these people are doing is very bad. For over one month now, trucks have been coming to this place to load illegal petroleum products.”I appeal to the government to urgently intervene before things get out of hand,” she said.Meanwhile, a security source disclosed that the trucks were loading the mopped-up spillage that occurred some time ago in one of the communities in the state. As at the time of filling this report, no fewer than 25 trucks were queuing to be loaded at midnight allegedly, while others arrived for their loading turn.They parked on both sides of the NPA expressway, beginning from the old port extending towards the new port.Beyond the impending danger, the development also impedes the free-flow of vehicular movement on the seemingly busy road.
