In order to prevent the increasing rate of petroleum tanker crashes in the country, the federal government has been urged to consider urgent intervention through the provision of soft loans for truck renewal.
The intervention is one of the measures suggested by participants at the strategic stakeholders meeting held in Abuja on Monday to address of petroleum tanker crashes.
At the meeting held at the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, National Headquarters, Abuja, the Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, represented the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.
Also present were representatives of Major Oil Marketers of Nigeria, MOMAN, and the National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO.
In a statement issued at the end of the meeting by the spokesman of the FRSC, Mr. Bisi Kazeem, the stakeholders said the government should use a similar template as applicable to pharmaceutical companies and other sectors of the economy at the peak of COVID -19 .
He added that it was also suggested that as a long term solution to the safe, efficient and sustainable transportation of petroleum products across the country, there was need for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, to re-activate failed and vandalised pipelines in the country.
That it was said would reduce the burden of transportation of petroleum products by road.
“Members further called for a timeline to be set for the enforcement of the maximum load capacity of 45,000 litres of petroleum products by trucks operating from the Tank Farms across the country,” he added.
Kazeem disclosed too that the meeting resolved that enforcement of all safety standards including anti-skid, anti-rollover and anti-spill (safety valves) be prioritised within a given time frame as outlined in the similar communiqué reached in 2018.
He said it was suggested that government should consider issuing directives on enforcement of the 10-year policy on importation of trucks so that any articulated vehicle beyond 10 years of age should not be allowed into the country.
Part of the resolutions, according to him was also that FRSC, MOMAN and NARTO should organise a joint enlightenment campaign for articulated vehicle drivers including production and placement of jingles in different languages on radio and television stations, production of handbills and also convene a press conference within two weeks.
The resolutions were endorsed on behalf of the relevant stakeholders by Clement Isong and Aloga Ogbogo, executive secretaries of MOMAN and NARTO respectively and the Corps Marshal of FRSC.
