Effective from today, the federal government has begun implementation of the ban on fuel tankers with capacities exceeding 60,000 litres from loading and distribution of fuel across the country.
The government also began the implementation of the safe-to-load initiative, aimed at ensuring that only motorable and roadworthy vehicles are allowed to load petroleum products from the depots.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) which made this known however clarified that the decision to ban these trucks was not taken unilaterally, but was the outcome of a meeting by over 15 government agencies and private operators in the downstream sector.
Speaking at the just concluded 2025 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES), NMDPRA executive director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, Ogbugo Ukoha said, “Beginning 1st March, the authority, in conjunction with the Ministry of Works, Federal Road Safety Service, NMDPRA, NARTO, MEMAN and DAPPMAN will preclude the loading of any truck with stock capacity in excess of 60,000 litres beginning 1st March, which is Saturday.
And by Q4 2025, we will drive it down to 45,000 litres. There is a positive correlation between accidents happening and the truck load capacity.
“Let me also clarify that in the media it is always said that the Authority has issued this mandate or that mandate.
Those mandates were outcomes of resolutions reached by all stakeholders. If you look at the resolutions that are signed, you can see them from there.
They were all signed by more than 15 industry stakeholders, including NUPENG, DAPPMAN, IPMAN NARTO, Office of the NSA, DSS, Nigerian Police Force, Federal Fire Service, Civil Defense, and the police force.”
We have also started from the depot loading depot safe to load initiatives. If the truck is not safe and not motorable or roadworthy It should not be loaded with any product from the depots. For this, NARTO, DAPPMAN, MEMAN, NMDPRA, FRSC, IPMAN, and PETROAN will take charge as agreed in the meeting,
This move aims to mitigate the rising number of accidents involving heavy-duty petroleum trucks, which have resulted in significant loss of life and property damage.
Industry stakeholders, including transport unions and safety experts, have agreed on these measures to reduce tanker-related accidents.
Ukoha also stated that another decision taken was the installation of anti-skid safety valves and speed limiters on all the trucks.
This, he said, applies to almost all vehicles and all the trucks carrying various petroleum products and gas as well. The timeline for full implementation is Q4 2025.
Other measures to mitigate tanker explosions include the colour-coding and branding of all tank trucks and this also applies to other derivatives, so that when first responders approach a truck they can tell by sight what equipment to use because for each product there are different combustibles, Ukoha said.
This move comes after a series of tragic tanker explosions, which have claimed numerous lives and caused significant property damage.
Recall that in January 2025 alone, over 100 lives were lost in tanker-related accidents. The most devastating incident occurred on January 18 when a petrol tanker exploded at Dikko junction along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway in Niger State, resulting in the deaths of at least 98 people. The explosion happened when local residents attempted to scoop fuel from the overturned tanker after an accident. The resulting fire left dozens of people severely burned.
A week later, another explosion occurred along the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, killing 11 individuals. In this case, a tanker suffered brake failure, toppled, and leaked fuel, which ignited and caused a deadly blaze.
Available data revealed that nearly 493 fatalities have occurred from tanker-related incidents over the past three years, with 121 deaths already reported in just the first two months of 2025 alone.
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