Following the recently concluded Stakeholders’ summit for Haulage in Nigeria which held on the 9th of July 2018 at the instance of the SGF, the Chief Operating Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Downstream, Mr. Henry Ikem Obih, had a meeting with the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, to discuss the roadmap to achieving the Plan of Action of the Haulage Summit.

In his address, the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps stated the need for the harmonisation of data between Federal Road Safety Corps(FRSC), Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation( NNPC), Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF)and Petroleum Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPRA), and also to ensure that Tank Farms compliance to minimum safety standards are achieved .

The Corps Public Education Officer of FRSC, Bisi Kazeem, stated that the Corps Marshal equally addressed the issues of Safety Valves which must be in place in all tankers to make sure that where there is a crash incident, the content of the tanker is not spilled; compliance to Road Transport Safety Standardization Scheme (RTSSS); and for Tankers to have Three Plate numbers.

Other issues the Corps Marshal raised at the meeting were: provisions being made to acquire Equipment for testing trucks at Tank Farms, Payment of Trucks tied to meeting minimum standards, Fleet renewal for truck Operators, capacity building of Staff at Tank Farms, Harmonization of Operating safety requirements at all Tank Farms, Possibility of Pegging tanker carrying capacity to 33,000 litres.

Mr. Henry Ikem Obih expressed his gratitude to the Corps for the support through monitoring of tankers at the depot, and equally stated that NNPC is committed to maintaining the working relationship to ensure Operational Excellence, Security and Coordination.

He further stressed that NNPC’s special interest in the behaviour of drivers is important because of the challenges faced in loading petroleum products with Pipeline.

While he noted that the trucks plying roads in Nigeria are many and expressed their interest in making sure that trucks arrive their destinations safely, he assured the Corps of their Cooperation and commitment to the Action Plans as it will ensure that there is no scarcity of fuel.

The COO welcomed the idea of harmonizing data, ensuring minimum safety standards, and other ideas presented by the Corps Marshal. He advised that before getting to the implementation stage, other stakeholders like Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas/Petroleum Tanker Drivers (NUPENG-PTD), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) be involved from the onset.

He equally commended the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, for the summit of Haulage Operators in Nigeria which was held on Monday 9, July 2018 at the Conference Hall of the Office of the Secretary-General of the Federation.

With a view to engendering participation amongst all stakeholders, the COO advised MOMAN and DAPPMAN to invest in Driving Schools which he believes will have positive effect on Drivers of articulated vehicles who he believes feel big and therefore, engage their Motor boys with the responsibility of driving their trucks.