The Federal Government of Nigeria has banned fuel tankers exceeding 60,000 litres from operating on Nigerian roads.
Announcing the ban, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, stated that the new order is with effect from 1 March 2025.
The agency also specified that, by the fourth quarter of 2025, no truck with a capacity exceeding 45,000 litres will be permitted to load petroleum products.
NMDPRA Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure, Ogbugo Ukoha, told journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, that the decision was made in response to the rising number of road accidents involving heavy-duty petroleum tankers.
According to him, after deliberations involving key agencies it was agreed that from 1 March 2025, any truck with an axle load exceeding 60,000 litres of hydrocarbons will not be allowed to load at any depot.
He listed the key agencies at the meeting to include the Department of State Services, DSS, Federal Fire Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, DAPPMAN, and NMDPRA.
Ukoha dismissed recent claims questioning the quality of fuel in circulation across the country.
While describing the claims as bogus, misleading, and unscientific, NMDPRA Executive Director emphasized that all imported and locally refined petroleum products meet strict regulatory standards before being released into the market.
