FG, tanker drivers split over 60,000 truck ban enforcement
Despite a public announcement that trucks transporting more than 60,000 litres of hydrocarbon products would be prohibited from loading at depots and using federal roads from March 1, 2024, the Federal Government seems to have failed to enforce this order.
Industry operators said the government has shifted enforcement of the policy announced two weeks ago by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to September.
However, a senior official of the NMDPR insisted that enforcement of the ban had started, although the tankers were still in operation.
But operators said the ban was postponed due to pressure from major oil marketers and stakeholders with a significant presence in the North.
Recall that on February 20, 2025, the NMDPRA announced a ban on trucks with a maximum loading capacity of 60,000 litres, indicating that 45,000-litre capacity trucks were going to be the maximum allowed tankers. 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 announcement, according to the authority, was a sequel to the meeting the authority held with stakeholders in the industry owing to the recurring accidents and explosions due to overloaded petroleum products trucks.
This development elicited commendations from industry stakeholders and Nigeria. The Managing Director of Total Energies Marketing Nigeria Plc, Dr Samba Seye, at the Nigerian International Energy Summit, applauded the move, describing it as “the best decision taken by the authority in 2025.”
But in a dramatic turn of events, the tanker drivers have continued to load the banned trucks.
A marketer at a private depot in Lagos, Olatide Jeremiah, confirmed that the trucks with a maximum capacity of 60,000 litres were still allowed to pick products.
He said, “So what happened is that some major marketers like AA Rano, AYM Shafa and others have a strong presence in the North and use heavy trucks to transport their products. So these marketers went back to NMDPRA after the ban announcement and told them that the time frame was too short and they should be given more time.
“This made the authority shift the implementation to October. The authority agreed based on that ground. The outlook of this decision also implies that the ban may not be effected at all.”
But when contacted, the NMDPRA spokesperson, George Ene-Ita, vehemently denied the claim, stating that the enforcement had commenced.
He said, “The implementation of the maximum 60,000-litre trucking of PMS out of depots and tank farms in Nigeria was effective as of March 1, 2025. And all marketers and dealers are strictly complying with this NMDPRA directive.”
However, another private depot marketer and the National Association of Road Transport Owners confirmed that 60,000-litre trucks did not stop loading products on the announced date.
The marketer, working at A. A Rano depot, Ijegun Waterside in Lagos, who declined to give his name for safety reasons, said the policy wasn’t implemented due to lobbying from investors in the sector.
He said, “Yes, we are loading 60,000-litre trucks, but for any truck that exceeds that capacity, like 61,000 litres, 66,000 or 70,000 litres, we are not loading that.
“From the last meeting we held, which the NMDPRA attended. They asked us to continue loading the 60,000-litre tankers till October 2025. This is because of the time frame given to them. We are loading steadily.”
After declining our correspondent’s request to provide a picture of the loading process, he explained, “Let me give a clear picture: when it comes to petroleum business and trucking business, investment is key. Those trucks are products of loans taken from banks, and they are paid back weekly and monthly.
“So the amount of business property that would have been lost is too much. They would enter bad debt. Maybe the authority should have gotten back to the media and informed them that it was shifted till October. But we are loading steadily here.”
Similarly, the NARTO president, Yusuf Othman, confirmed the non-enforcement of the ban, stating, “We will continue to work on the plan, as it has been put on hold till October, which is the last quarter of the year.
“The impact of the plan is that the volume that we supply will reduce, and we have over 2,000 trucks that are above 60,000 litres, and with these trucks, it means we have over 2,000 drivers.
“So over 2,000 drivers will be out of jobs. But we are still talking with the Federal Government to see what can be done.”
