Yuletide: Prioritise safety, exercise patience on roads, NMRDA urges tanker drivers

From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta

As activities heighten towards the end of the year, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Abeokuta Field Office, has urged drivers of tankers conveying inflammable products, including gas and petrol, to prioritise safety and exercise patience on the road.

The state coordinator of the Field Office, Dr. Akinyemi Atilola, stated this during a stakeholders’ sensitisation engagement on End-of-Year Petroleum Products Handling, held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

Addressing participants on the theme: “Impatience in Petroleum Supply and Distribution Operations: Assessing The Risks And Dangers Ahead of The Festive Season,” he noted that non compliance with safety standards and impatience had sent many tanker drivers to their early graves.

Akinyemi pointed out that the end-of-year period was often characterised by heightened demand for petroleum products, long queues, increased commercial activities and pressure on operators, which sometimes result in unsafe practices and accidents, hence drivers of petroleum and LPG tankers need to exercise cautions and restraints.

He added that incidents recorded during the festive period were mostly linked to impatience, panic buying, unsafe storage of products and improper handling by marketers and transporters.

“Each year, this period brings its peculiar challenges: the rush to meet delivery targets, pressure from customers, long queues, and in some cases, panic buying and unsafe storage.

“Unfortunately, these pressures sometimes lead to unsafe practices, accidents, product losses, and even loss of lives.

“Today’s engagement is, therefore, designed to sensitise and remind all stakeholders, marketers, tanker drivers, LPG dealers, depot operators, and security agencies of the need to exercise restraint, maintain discipline, and prioritise safety above profit or speed,” he said.

Akinyemi stressed that safety and compliance remain shared responsibilities, adding that the NMDPRA goal is to achieve 100 per cent compliance and zero accidents across Ogun State and beyond.

“At the NMDPRA, our message remains consistent: Safety and compliance are shared responsibilities. The Authority is not out to impose penalties, but to ensure 100% compliance and zero accidents across all operations.”