Fears of fresh fuel crisis as govt implements ban on 60,000-litre trucks today

Fears of fresh fuel crisis as govt implements ban on 60,000-litre trucks today

 

Fresh fuel crisis may be imminent as the Federal Government’s ban on 60,000-litre capacity trucks takes effect today, March 1, 2025

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has announced a ban on 60,000-litre fuel tankers from operating, which will take effect on March 1, 2025.

The action is aimed at curtailing truck-in-transit incidents, causing tanker fire accidents leading to loss of deaths.

The agency also explained that no truck with over 45,000 litres capacity would be allowed to load products by the fourth quarter of 2025.

The National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), however, expressed fear that should the government effect the ban, investments in 60,000-litre trucks worth over N300bn might go down the drain.

A report by Daily Trust on Saturday said owners of the trucks were apprehensive that the ban might trigger scarcity of PMS.

Executive Secretary of NARTO, Aloga Ogbogo, was reported as saying the operators were waiting to see how the implementation would go, adding, “We don’t have any comment for now.”

Many NARTO members decried the ban, saying the truck drivers were not the only cause of accidents on the road.

Alhassan Gambo, a tanker driver who claimed to have spent more than 11 years plying the roads from Kano to Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri and many other places, said the ban would result in a hike in the pricye of petroleum products and other related commodities.

Another tanker driver said there is going to be scarcity of petroleum and other allied products if the ban becomes effective.

According to him, necessity was behind the construction of the 60,000-litre tankers and banning it means reduction in supply, which can result in scarcity.

In Borno, Alhaji Mustapha Zarma, owner of petrol stations in Maiduguri, said the issue is not about the capacity of fuel the tankers are carrying but the road worthiness of the vehicles and the condition of roads they ply, which usually cause accidents.