Fuel tanker owners face N300bn loss over FG ban

…as NARTO suggests possible suspension

With the decision of the Federal Government to ban the use of trucks exceeding 60,000 litres to transport petrol across the country, the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has said that the decision can lead to N300 billion loss for its members.

The Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in February 2025 had announced that from 1st March, 2025 trucks with a capacity in excess of 60,000 litres would not be allowed as a means of transporting petroleum products in the country.

The Authority arrived at the decision after astakeholders’ meeting to address the increasing cases of accidents involving petrol loaded trucks.

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 with BusinessDay on the implications of the ban, Yusuf Othman, President of NARTO explained that members of the Association currently have about 2000 trucks with capacity exceeding 60,000 litres. This, he said, would also affect the livelihoods of over 2,000 drivers employed to move the trucks.

“The impact of the plan is that the volume that we supply will reduce and we have over 2000 trucks that are above 60,000 litres, and with these trucks it means we have over 2000 drivers. So over 2000 drivers will be out of job.

“Also the price of a truck is about N1.5 million (sic) which will result in loss of N300 billion for our members,” Othman said.

He however hinted that the plan which was supposed to in force since March 1st, was placed on hold to allow for extensive engagement among stakeholders. According to him, the plan is on hold till October, being the last quater of the year 2025.

Afolabi Olawale, General Secretary of NUPENG, who featured as a guest on BusinessDay TV, said that the decision to ban the use of heavy for petrol transport became necessary due to its impact on the road as well as recurrence of accidents.

According to him, the continously use of trucks to transport petrol came as a result of the abandonment of the pipelines across the country, which was originally planned as a system of transporting petroleum products from the depots, then trucking would be for short duration of maximum of 150 kilometer radius.

Read also: FG bans fuel tankers over 60,000 Litres from March 1, 2025

“But when we abandoned the pipeline, we had to rely heavily on trucking and, businessmen started increasing the capacity. They want to get as much load, as much product as possible to every station, to evacuate from their depots. And that was when they started increasing from 33, 45, 50, 60, 70, 80 and sometimes we have 90,000 litres.

“The impact generally on the driver, on the road itself, and the recurrence of accidents and fatality of these accidents are so enormous. So, we started advocacy against these trucks, and during the regime of President Buhari and Mr. Raji Fashola as Minister of Works, we were moving towards having this kind of decision that no truck bigger than 45,000 litres should be allowed on our roads. We also look at even the issue of importation of this open body, that the effect on our roads are enormous.

“So a committee was set up then, in 2019-2020, and we visited the ports, we visited the toll gates, so that there will be reintroduction of way bridges, that anybody found carrying beyond these, there will be a portion beside the way bridge where they will transload and things like that. But it never saw the light of the day, until recently, until very, very recently, when we had the unfortunate incidences of accidents and fire and people scooping petroleum products.

“So it was decided at the meeting, as part of mitigating against this, that no truck with capacity above 60,000 litres should be allowed to load from our depots across the country, and no truck above 60,000 should be allowed to also traverse our highway. That’s the decision so far. It is just in the interest of the public, in the interest of our nation, that lives of Nigerians are very important,” Olawale noted.

He however said that he wasn’t aware if the ban on the use of trucks exceeding 60,000 litres was suspended.

George Ene-Ita, spokesperson for the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, could not also confirm the suspension of the ban, as he said he was not aware of such development.