By Abdulrahman Obaje
Stakeholders in the oil and gas sector said the traditional and religious institutions is key to safety awareness and efforts should be intensified in view of rising incidents of petrol tanker explosion in the country.
The stakeholders made this assertion on Sunday, January 19th, 2025 when the team of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) visited the site of the petrol tanker explosion in Gurara, Niger state.
Mr Aloga Ogbogo, Executive Secretary, National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) while speaking at the scene emphasised the need for interface to ensure that the reoccurrence is curtailed to the barest minimum.
Ogbogo said that adequate safety measures and serious sensitisation are required in any area with high level of trucking activities, while a fire station should be positioned too.
He said, “We are all aware that 100 per cent of petroleum product is being conveyed by truck in this country today.
“So, in an area where there is high petroleum trucking activities, just like this, I will advise that awareness should be intensified 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 to position a fire station in such area.
“If there was a fire station here, this tragic incident would have been arrested,” he said.
While condoling with the good people and government of Niger State he prayed that the souls of the departed rest in peace.
Ogbogo, stated that a lot of factors could have been responsible for the fire accident, adding that “accident is a function of three variables, namely- human factor, mechanical, and environmental.
“For this particular point in time is not the time to apportion blame, because we are in a very sorrowful mood.
Also, Mr Malut Abubakar, Deputy National Chairman, Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), branch of NUPENG said the sensitisation being embarked by government and media were not taken seriously, hence canvases for a necessary door-to-door sensitization campaign.
“Our main problem is that government should come into this by providing a very good road. If not because of the deplorable situation of the road, this thing would not have happened.
“We want our drivers to have very good access roads to prevent this kind of a situation.
“The people that always rush to siphon the product are also one of the factors that leads to this kind of a situation.
“So, whenever this kind of a thing happens, we want the government to intervene immediately by providing enough security agents to control the scene of the accident and prevent explosion,” he said.