…mulls scrapping of 60,000 litres petroleum truck
The Nigerian Midstream, Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has begun engagements with relevant bodies in the Nigerian Petroleum industry to address the rising cases of truck incidents in the country.
According to the Authority, fatalities recorded from road accidents involving Petroleum loaded trucks have been on the high side, with 5 accidents, 121 fatalities and 79 injuries recorded in 2025.
Speaking during a stakeholder meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, Farouk Ahmed, the Authority Chief Executive said that truck incidents were unnecessary and avoidable with total adherence to safety measures.
He said, “In the year 2022, four road tanker accidents were recorded that led to 7 fatalities and 3 injuries. The number of incidents decreased in the year 2023 to two, resulting in 24 fatalities and 5 injuries. By the year 2024, the number of accidents increased to 11 incidents leading to 341 fatalities and 124 injuries.
“This year to date, we have already recorded 5 road tanker accidents leading to 121 fatalities and 79 injuries. These incidents are unnecessary and unacceptable. They must be prevented and brought down to zero.”
He noted the necessary measures to prevent and mitigate their occurrence to include: Minimum Industry Safety Training for Downstream Operators (MISTDO), which include training and retraining of drivers, motor boys, and all personnel involved in downstream operations; installation of anti-spill safety valves on all petroleum product tanker trucks; implementation of safe-to-load initiatives, colour coding and branding of all tank trucks.
Other measures according to the Ahmed are: dpot checks by FRSC on fatigued drivers and those under influence, sensitization of public about the dangers of scooping the volatile hydrocarbons at accident sites and determination of appropriate truck carrying capacity (60,000 litres vs 45,000 litres) given the negative impact on the roads.
Farouk explained that these were arrived at by the industry collectively, pursuant to learnings from previous accidents and safety studies conducted to ensure that business of energy provision and distribution is conducted in a safe and secure manner.
“It is therefore unacceptable for any operator to conduct business in contravention of established protocols and safety requirements. It is these contraventions, coupled with the poor conditions of our transportation infrastructure that are leading to the unnecessary accidents and unfortunate loss of lives and properties.
“The fact that these accidents keep recurring is indicative of non-compliance by the industry with the established safety measures or that the measures are defective. Consequently, we demand that all parties should ensure strict compliance with the established safety requirements,” he added.
Afolabi Olawole, secretary general of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG) in his remarks stressed on the need for collaboration among stakeholders as well as fair consideration to curb the menace.
According to him, policies that protect the investments of truck owners must be considered in order to avoid disruption in petroleum distribution. He also noted the impacts of bad roads which he said was a major cause of raid accidents.
“NUPENG has been in the forefront of trying to reduce incidents of accidents across the country, we know drivers are usually stressed, and may have one ailment or the other. So we have introduced health insurance scheme for them, from the little money we have we pay for them to access health care, so that when they are sick or stressed they can attend any near by hospital so they don’t drive when they are sick or having any ailment. We also provide social welfare scheme for every tanker driver.
“And we also have the issue of bad roads, no matter how good you are, if the roads are not good it will cause accident and the economy situation of the country is not good enough for investors, but we are just trying. The owners of the truck, imagine how expensive it is. To own one single truck cost almost N150 million, to lose that to accident is disheartening.
“So NUPENG is willing to corporate to ensure the safety of lives and properties not only of our members but of the general public, and we assure the Authority that we will do all we can to support every good initiative they are making, but in doing it, we should also consider that this action should be just and fair to the investors, because we cannot just take policy that will wipe away the investors. The investors are critical, I mean the owners of trucks, so whatever government can do to mitigate the impact on the owners of trucks, because if they don’t own trucks, we will not have our members driving the trucks.
“If they don’t own trucks, you will not have well-established system to get petrol. So we need to look and balance all the situations all together. But in summary, NUPENG as a trade organisation, responsible one, we are willing to cooperate, we are willing to support and see how we can mitigate this incidents,” he said.
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