Groups ask FG to ban importation of articulated vehicles over 10 years old

The Major Oil Marketers of Nigeria (MOMAN) and the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) have asked the federal government to ban articulated vehicles that are over 10 years of age.

An articulated vehicle is a type of vehicle that has permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, which allows it to make sharp turns.

The demand was made during a stakeholders meeting to review possible ways of reducing frequent cases of road crashes involving petroleum tankers and trucks.

The meeting held at the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) national headquarters in Abuja, on Monday, is coming two months after a workshop was held between both groups.

Present at the meeting was Boboye Oyeyemi, corps marshal of FRSC, who represented Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation; Clement Isong and Aloga Ogbogo, executive secretaries of MOMAN and NARTO respectively.

In a statement, Bisi Kazeem, the corps public education officer, said the meeting resulted in some resolutions aimed at tackling the menace of petroleum tanker crashes in the country.

Kazeem said the groups recommended that the SGF should secure a presidential directive “for urgent intervention in the provision of soft loans for truck renewal, using similar template as applicable to pharmaceutical companies and other sectors of the economy at the peak of COVID -19”.

The groups also recommended the need for NNPC to reactivate failed and vandalized pipelines in the country to reduce the burden on the transportation of petroleum products by road.

The FRSC spokesman said the meeting resolved that enforcement of all safety standards including anti-skid, anti-rollover and anti-spill (safety valves) be prioritized within a given time frame as outlined in the similar communiqué reached in 2018.

He added that government will consider issuing directives on enforcement of the 10-year policy on importation of trucks to reduce ageing vehicles which may cause accidents.

“Members further called for a timeline to be set for the enforcement of the maximum load capacity of 45,000 litres of petroleum products by trucks operating from the Tank Farms across the country,” the statement reads.

“Government to consider issuing directives on enforcement of the 10-year policy on importation of trucks, so that any articulated vehicle that is beyond 10 years of age should not be allowed into the country.”

Kazeem added that the groups, including FRSC, agreed to organise a two-week campaign for articulated vehicle drivers.