In a move to stop the recent fatal accidents involving fuel tankers, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has decided to stop the loading and distribution of over 33,000 liters of petroleum products by road tankers.
In Nigeria issues surrounding road tanker accidents have been an old perennial problem, approximately 95percent of Nigeria’s petroleum product transport volume move on the road system while losses from the tanker, crashes have been estimated to be causing the nation about N7 billion annually.
According to DPR’s Lagos Zonal Operations Controller Wole Akinyosoye, the regulator would make sure that the maximum limit of 33,000 liters is attained while also noting that petroleum products were transported via road due to the inadequacy of pipelines built for the purpose of conveying fuel.
“Many of the roads were constructed to have a maximum carrying capacity of 30 tonnes (about 33,000 liters). The Nigerian law only allows for 33,000 liters to be loaded out of the depots. Today, we have 60,000 liters, 45,000 liters and sometimes 90,000 liters loaded out of the depots,” Akinyosoye said at the zone’s 2019 Annual General Meeting in Lagos.
Akinyosoye admitted that DPR is culpable in these circumstances “but the department has taken a decision because of what has been happening in the last two to three months that we have to enforce the maximum limit, which is 33,000 liters, on our roads.”
Within January to October this year, about 42 cases 0f road traffic crashes involving tankers have been recorded this year along the Lagos – Ogun axis while DPR incident investigation reports on road transport accidents often identified human factor as the root cause, or as remote, immediate or contributory causes of accidents.
Ahmed Shakur, the acting Director of the DPR added that the agency would ensure that safety returns to the roads again and petroleum products are adequately distributed.
“We are liaising with relevant government agencies including the FRSC, federal and state fire service departments and relevant associations on solutions, including scheduling of tanker truck movement, provision of fast and efficient towing services,” Shakur said.
The statistics of tanker crashes in Lagos alone is worrisome with the Lagos Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Hyginus Omeje, disclosing that Lagos had already surpassed the 302 figure of tanker crashes in 2018.
