Team Lead of Platforms Africa, Adeola Yusuf, has expressed reservation over the effectiveness of the measure in addressing tanker accidents in the country.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) had recently announced a ban on 60,000-litre fuel tankers from operating on Nigerian roads.
Ogbugo Ukoha, NMDPRA’s executive director of distribution systems, storage, and retailing infrastructure, told journalists that the ban, which would take effect from March 1, would mitigate truck-in-transit incidents.
Adeola Yusuf, an energy policy analyst, acknowledged the government’s intention to curb fuel tanker mishaps but argued that the measure alone would not nip the issue in the bud.
He said: “Even though that may have some kind of effect, I don’t think that alone will stop fuel tanker explosion and accidents on Nigerian roads.”
He attributed the accidents to the poor state of Nigerian roads, saying: “Part of what contributes seriously to tanker accidents is the bad roads. The NMDPRA ought to have provided an alternative.”
He advised the NMDPRA to focus on fixing the country’s pipelines, which would enable easy transportation of fuel products rather than trucks.
He added: “What the NMDPRA should be doing now, in addition to the effort made to stop loading of 60,000 litres trucks, is to ensure that those pipelines are fixed.”
He further advocated the need to use trains to transport inflammable products, as it is done in other countries pending when the pipelines are fixed.
The analyst also emphasized the import of ensuring the good condition of trucks and collaboration with road safety agencies to minimize accidents.
He added: “Beyond adopting other means like train transportation, they should see more to the state of the engines of those trucks. They need to engage in serious collaboration with road safety agencies like the FRSC, the VIO, even the police to ensure accidents of fuel tankers on Nigerian roads are totally stopped.”