* Tanker drivers, owners call for caution, seek govt intervention
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The leadership of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Sunday visited the scene of a tanker explosion that claimed dozens of lives in Suleja, Niger State, stressing that it could review existing safety rules to halt future occurrences.
The Chief Executive of the regulatory agency, Farouk Ahmed, who extended the authority’s condolences to the families of the deceased and the government of Niger State, cautioned Nigerians against rushing to scenes of tanker incidents to avoid accidents that could claim lives and property.
Ahmed was represented by the Executive Director, Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) of the organisation, Mustapha Lamorde.
While wishing those that were injured quick recovery, Ahmed explained that although there were already standard operating procedures and guidelines that should be adhered to in the sector, those rules may need to be given a second look.
“I think most importantly is awareness. People should be aware of the danger that this poses, especially when there’s an accident like that, they need to be aware of the dangers of explosions. We need to create that public awareness for people to avoid coming close in contact to the vicinity when accidents like this happen.
“And we have standard operating procedures, and we have guidelines. We have required training within the sector that encourages safety awareness. So we are going to review that, we are going to collaborate with key stakeholders.
“We have the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) here, we have NUPENG, we have IPMAN, Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and other key stakeholders to make sure that we push this public awareness and also collaborate so that this doesn’t happen again,” he stressed.
Although he said that there was already a preliminary report on the accident, he stressed that a detailed investigation was required which will lead to measures to prevent such accidents from happening in the future.
“From what we learned, there was an accident, and from the accident, there was a spill, and people were scooping fuel, and this led to the incident that caused the loss of many lives yesterday (Saturday),” he added.
The National President, NARTO, Yusuf Othman, in his remarks, said that accidents were usually a function of the environment, mechanical and human factors, arguing that in spite of the sensitisation embarked upon by government, people were not taking the awareness seriously.
“But what I will advise, in an area where there is a lot of activities of petroleum happening, I will advise that we create awareness through the traditional institutions. The village heads and the religious leaders should be involved in the awareness.
“And beyond that, I also want to advise the government of Niger State to position a fire station here. If there was a fire station here, this incident would have been arrested. This is because of the high level of trucking activities going on here. Because we are all aware that 100 per cent of petroleum products is conveyed by truck in this country.
“So, in an area where there is high trucking activity, just like this, I will advise that awareness should be intensified through the traditional institutions,” he added.
Represented by the Executive Secretary, NARTO, Aloga Ogbogo, Othman pointed out that it was not the time to apportion blame, because the nation was already mourning, stressing that everything should be done to ensure that such occurrences were minimised to the barest.
Also, the Deputy National chairman (PTD), Malut Abubakar, recalled that the association had earlier written to the government on the bad state of the roads.
“So, our main problem is that government should come into this by providing very good road. If not, because of the road situation, this thing wouldn’t have happened. Because last time we did it in Kaduna, we wrote to the government of Kaduna State in order for them to call the road contractors to Kaduna Bypass.
“And there were a lot of incidences that took place there, where the government intervened by calling the attention of the contractors to come and level the place. And they did it,” he stressed.
The team also visited Yar’Adua Memorial Hospital, where some of the injured were rushed. At the hospital, the Head of Hospital Services, Dr Musa Lafaruwa, gave an update on the situation of the wounded.
