The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced a ban on fuel tankers exceeding 60,000 litres from operating on Nigerian roads, effective March 1, 2025.
The directive was issued by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), as part of efforts to enhance road safety and regulate petroleum transportation.
Additionally, the agency revealed that by the fourth quarter of 2025, fuel trucks exceeding 45,000 litres will no longer be permitted to load petroleum products.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, Ogbugo Ukoha, NMDPRA Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure, stated that the decision was made in response to the rising number of road accidents involving heavy-duty petroleum tankers.
“The first stakeholders’ technical committee met today to establish timelines for about 10 resolutions aimed at addressing the significant increase in truck transit incidents and fatalities,” he said.
According to him, after deliberations involving key agencies—including the Department of State Services, DSS, Federal Fire Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, DAPPMAN, and NMDPRA—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.
“The key point here is that, for the first time, consensus was reached among all stakeholders, and we will continue to work together cohesively to ensure the safe transportation of petroleum products across the country,” he said.
Ukoha dismissed recent claims questioning the quality of fuel in circulation across the country, describing them as bogus, misleading, and unscientific.
He assured Nigerians that all imported and locally refined petroleum products meet strict regulatory standards before being released into the market.
The regulator vowed to ensure compliance with petroleum industry standards and specifications, stressing that recent social media claims about the quality of fuel products in circulation are baseless and should be disregarded.
“The regulator would usually be more circumspect and not respond to every comment made in public,” he said.