Drivers in the convoy of the advance team of Vice President John Dramani Mahama, who were traveling to the Northern region, yesterday had a brawl with taxi drivers who had queued throughout the day to buy fuel at the GOIL filing station at Techiman, in the Brong-Ahafo region.
The security men and the station attendants had a hectic time bringing the situation under control.The Vice President is flying to Tamale, en route to Chereponi to campaign for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate in next Tuesday�s by-election. He is also expected to donate a bus to Real Tamale United Football Club.
At about 2.45pm, a fleet of vehicles which drove to the petrol filling station to refuel met a long queue of vehicles since there had been petrol shortage in the town for some time.
The team attempted to jump the queue, but the visibly angry taxi drivers who had been waiting patiently for their turn charged on the Vice President�s drivers and started shouting and yelling at them.
According to the drivers, they saw no reason why the convoy should be given preferential treatment while they had waited in the queue for a very long time.
As the argument went back and forth, the station manager pleaded with the taxi drivers to allow the Veep�s seven vehicles to refuel, but his plea fell on deaf ears.
One taxi driver was heard insulting the convoy drivers and hurling unsavoury words at government. As matters reached a crescendo, the drivers of the seven black Ford Expedition 4x4 vehicles mellowed and begged the drivers to allow them to refuel, which the drivers eventually yielded to.
Journalists who rushed to the scene were ruffled and driven away. A journalist who attempted to photograph the scene had his camera seized and was nearly handcuffed by the security detail.
When Daily Guide attempted to take the registration number of the Ford Expedition cars, a security detail held the reporter�s shirt and ordered him to surrender his notepad. The reporter, however, managed to memorise the numbers of three of the vehicles as WR 908-09, BA 210-09 and AS 4215 � 09. As the convoy sped off, a large crowd which had then gathered at the GOIL station hooted at them. The GOIL station was the only service station serving the whole Techiman Municipality because other stations had run out of fuel.
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