The Federal Government has announced a ban on fuel tankers above 60,000 litres from plying the Nigerian roads.
The ban is likely going to take effect from March 1st, 2025, as revealed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The agency also specified that no truck with over 45,000 litres in capacity will be allowed to load products by the fourth quarter of 2025.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, Ogbugo Ukoha, NMDPRA Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure, said the decision was made in response to the increasing number of road accidents involving heavy-duty petroleum tankers.
”The first stakeholder’s technical committee met today to drill down and put timelines for about 10 resolutions that had been taken on how to drive down the significant increase that had been observed in relation to trucks and transit incidents and fatalities, ” he said.
According to him, following deliberations involving key agencies including the Department of State Services (DSS), Federal Fire Service, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), it was agreed that from March 1, 2025, any truck with an axle load of more than 60,000 litres of hydrocarbon will not be allowed to load at any depoot.
”The important thing about this is that, for the first time, consensus was built amongst all stakeholders, and we’re continuing to encourage that we will work together cohesively to deliver a safe transportation of petroleum products across the country,” he said.
Ukoha dismissed recent claims questioning the quality of fuel in circulation across the country, describing them as bogus, misleading, and unscientific.
He assured Nigerians that all imported and locally refined petroleum products meet strict regulatory standards before being released into the market.
The regulator vowed to ensure compliance with petroleum industry standards and specifications, stressing that recent social media claims about the quality of fuel products in circulation are baseless and should be disregarded.
”The regulator would usually be more circumspect and not respond to every comment that is made in the public.
