The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, has said that it may impose a ban on trucks with 60,000-litre capacity, preventing them from operating on federal highways.
This follows the increasing number of deaths resulting from petrol tanker accidents, which has led to the death of 493 persons in three years.
The government, in a proposal to stakeholders, wants tankers restricted to a maximum of 45,000 litres.
It said this ban is part of a potential recommendation aimed at reducing fatalities from petroleum tanker accidents to zero.
The Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, disclosed this at a stakeholder’s engagement on the recurrence of road tanker accidents held at its headquarters on Wednesday in Abuja.
The meeting sought to provide lasting solutions to the frequent accidents involving petroleum tankers, which have resulted in loss of lives and property.
In his address, the ACE said the public is seeking intervention to protect lives and properties as the government recorded 493 deaths from petroleum truck-related accidents from 2022 to date.
According to him, the carnage from the Petroleum truck explosion has been on the increase from seven recorded in 2022 to 24 deaths in 2023, while 341 died in 2024; the carnage rate has already hit 121 in 2025, which is only two months from its beginning.Ahmed, who described the rising number of accidents and fatalities as unacceptable, said urgent steps were needed to ensure safety in the transportation of petroleum products across the country.
He said, “We are here today to discuss the recent trend in road tanker accidents and the resultant fatalities and other consequences. The public is watching helplessly and looking forward to intervention to protect lives and properties.
“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 five 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 five 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.”
Ahmed said the incidents aretransporters are investors and these investments are huge. Any truck that loads 60,000 litres must be a truck with a strong and sound engine at an average cost of N150m. By our estimation, we have 2,000 of them. We are talking about N300bn investments, some of which were financed by banks and other lenders.”
“We believe that necessary measures should be in place that are going to stop the occurrences. But in doing that, we need to be careful and avoid being sentimental in taking certain positions on this issue.”
He sought government intervention for the improvement of the condition of the highways. He said there is a strong correlation between the condition of the roads and accidents.
He urged the public to always avoid petroleum products laden trucks because they are highly inflammable.
