.Bad roads must urgently be fixed to end menace- Agwanwor
.As Nigerians demand monitoring team to checkmate breaches
.Psychologist recommends mental health check for drivers
Ibrahim Quadri, Blessing Taiwo, Lagos , Cosmas Chukwu, Enugu, Emmanuel Nlewedum, Port Harcourt and Victor Duruamaku, Owerri
Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah and other prominent Nigerians have called for the enforcement of anti-spill lock on fuel tankers across the country, saying that disasters arising from tanker-spill had become too frequent.
Mbah the call when he received in his office the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Mrs. Zubaida Umar and her team who were in Enugu to flag-off the distribution of emergency intervention items to the victims of the recent tanker fire that caused the loss of several lives on the spot and also consumed several vehicles and goods at Ugwu Onyeama along the Enugu-Onitsha federal highway.
“As I stated when I visited the scene, we have disasters that we know that we obviously could not have envisaged or predicted; and when they happen, we trigger all the responses that we have set up.
“But this issue of tanker fire or explosion is becoming too recurrent and I did call on the law enforcement agencies, particularly the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, to ensure the enforcement of the anti-spill lock. This is because if we have anti-spill lock on those tankers carrying inflammable products like petrol and automotive gas oil, we will then be able to mitigate such disasters because even if the tanker falls, it will still not spill. But what happened in Enugu was a function of the spill of PMS (petrol) that got into other cars, and they got ignited.
“So, I will always want to use this opportunity again to reiterate my call on the law enforcement agencies to ensure strict enforcement of the anti-spill lock on all our petroleum product tankers. It is extremely important,” he stated.
The governor explained that his administration was doing everything humanly possible to ensure that the survivors got full medical treatment, noting that the government would bear the full expenses.
“We have those that are at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) and the Enugu State University of Science and Technology Hospital, Park Lane, and we are taking care of the bills,” he said.
He thanked and commended President Bola Tinubu and NEMA for their empathy, commiseration, and quick response to the sad development.
“We are deeply grateful for the support you have also provided. It is also a demonstration of the partnership between the federal government and the sub-nationals in this case, which we would want to entrench. We provided the ever-needed logistics to ensure that these items get to those who are most in need of them,” he concluded.
Similarly, Public Affairs analysts, Dr Ambrose Igbokwe and Dr Adetokun Pearse have advocated for anti-spill lock to address loss of lives which usually occurred whenever any fuel tanker involved in an accident.
Igbokwe and Pearse gave the advice in separate interviews with our correspondent, expressing the belief that adherence to safety measures such as weighbridge and anti-spill mechanism would provide short term solution in reducing fatalities on the roads.
Weighbridge was a mechanism used in the past to ascertain the vulnerability of loads carried by heavy-duty vehicles.
While expressing dissatisfaction over alleged influence of truck owners in serving as hindrance to adhere to safety measures on the highways by tanker drivers, the duo emphasized the need to protect lives and property.
They also called on government to ensure adequate maintenance of the roads, noting one of the major causes of having falling tankers was due to bad roads.
Dr Igbokwe advocated for the return of pipelines to pump fuel to different depots instead of the current practice where tankers drivers would travel long distances to supply fuel.
The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed, had announced recently an increase of 67 deaths in road traffic crashes between 2023 and 2024 representing a 7% hike in fatalities.
According to the data released by FRSC boss, incidentally, within the period under review, 2,055 people were injured in both 2023 and 2024.
According to him, the Corps recorded a total of 531 road traffic crashes nationwide as against 634 recorded in the same period in 2023. This represents a 16.2% reduction.
While noting a reduction in the overall number of road traffic crashes (RTCs), Mohammed highlighted that fatalities had increased due to secondary factors, particularly fuel scooping by individuals at crash sites.
According to Mohammed, the causes of fuel tanker crashes are multifaceted, involving human error, vehicle integrity, mechanical failures, and the lack of precautionary safety measures.
He explained that the transportation of petroleum products across vast distances increases the likelihood of crashes.
More so, a total of 2,129 people were rescued without injuries, representing an 8.2% decrease when compared to the 2,319 rescued in the same period in 2023.
He hinted that the corps had developed a multisectoral approach to curb the recurring incidents of tanker crashes, explosions, and the resulting fatalities.
Speaking on the development, Igbokwe recalled, “When we were growing up, we had weighbridges along our major expressways in Nigeria. What happened most of the time, we had a toll gate, we had weighbridge. It helped to know weight of the loads these trailers are carrying and what heavy duty trucks are carrying. But now, nobody checks the weight anymore.
“Then, issue of lack of refining capacity locally. Over the years, when we’re in the 80s and 90s, when our refineries were really working, we had pipelines from the refineries that directly connected to what you called the depot. For example, in the southwest, we had 12 depots in Ore, we had at Mosimi towards Ibadan. So, what Ore’s did then was to service the Ondo axis, service the ones in Benin and others.
“When you also come to Warri, Warri had a refinery that serviced the whole of the Niger Delta, Warri and Port Harcourt.
“To service the north, we actually built a refinery in the north not because there was oil in the north at that time. Because we could pump crude from the Niger Delta to Kaduna refinery that serviced the north.
“And then, there were also depots. That was what we’re refining in Kaduna. We had pipelines buried under the ground to depots. So, what does it do? The fuel tankers go in a short distance to pick fuel,” he stated.
Continuing the analyst lamented, “But what do we have now? We have fuel tankers from all over the country going to a point, a destination point, that’s not even in the center of the country, that is one corner of the country. It’s called Lagos. So, the man from Sokoto, the man from Kaduna, the man from Warri and from Benin comes, all the way to Lagos, heavy duty territory.
He further noted, “So, because we don’t have good work ethics, one man will drive, will be on the road for one week, two weeks. So, what happens is that most of the time, some of them run circuits to Benin. Some of them are also engaged in, they are tired.”
Igbokwe added, “Then, another problem we’re having is that anti-leak, that’s what we called the anti-spill mechanism in a tanker like that. Anti-spills, these are instruments that stop fuel from pouring when a tanker falls.
“So, in case there’s an accident, it stops the fuel from spilling. Now, what we have now is that because nobody checks the truck. What happens now is that everything goes.
“So, when there’s an accident, these things pour on the road, the content of the fuel is spilled on the road and then, because people are not even properly sensitized and educated about these things, they go there.
“Some people go there and make phone calls, some people go there and do all kinds of things that ignite the fire. But if there was anti-spill in the trucks, if there’s an accident, it can hardly spill over. So, these are the measures that government supposed to put in place.
“But most of the time, the road safety guys will say that when they arrest tankers like that and because they belong to the rich and the mighty, one phone call is made to the orders from above will come, and they will release the tanker. So, it is time to start adhering to the rules.”
The analyst however pointed out that since getting the pipelines functioning is a long term measure, he stated that adherence to the rules is necessary to avoid needless deaths.
“Until local refineries start functioning well, and our pipelines, as I’ve mentioned, start pumping to the depot, we need to now concentrate for now, in the short term, on how to make sure that the tankers keep to the rules of road safety.”
On his part, Dr Pearse who is the Convener of Reset Lagos PDP, stated that government must improve the quality of roads, noting “You know, if you are driving on the road and the road itself is not smooth, ditches on the road, they cause accidents.
He added, “Government must also insist on the tanker owners to fulfill proper roadworthiness for their vehicles.
“If you drive a car and you know the rules and regulations, so they will check the vehicle worthiness, whether your lights don’t work, whether your brakes don’t work properly and so on and so forth. They must do that.
Corroborating what Igbokwe stated, Pearse also stated, “But in addition to tanker drivers, they must check this oil spill filter that they have. There’s an equipment all of them must fix on their vehicles, so that when the vehicle tumbles, the oil will not spill, will not leak. Government must insist, as they insist on us before we drive our car on the road, we must fulfill all this.
“They must check the vehicle. Some of these tankers are even too old to be on the road. But because government is still so corrupt, and they are in cahoot with the tanker drivers, with the tanker owners, they don’t do the right thing. Government must do the right thing.
“And ultimately, people who allow their vehicles to be on the road, whether by not taking care of their vehicles, or by driving their vehicles to get a road clearance for roadworthiness, when it’s not roadworthy, they should be arrested and prosecuted.”
He went further to give advice on addressing poverty in the land, “when oil spills and people are rushing to collect the oil, that is poverty again.”
He therefore advised, “And government must ensure that anybody who breaks the law, including those poor people going to take a risk with their lives, will be prosecuted, people must know that. And it is the responsibility of government to protect people from destroying themselves.”
Meanwhile, a key player in the oil and gas sector, Comrade Alex Agwanwor has advised the federal government to speed up repairs and fixing of bad roads across the nation to end the incessant tanker explosions in the country.
Comrade Alex Agwanwor, who is the National Treasurer of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), gave the advice during an interview with Daily Champion in Port Harcourt, while reacting on the recent tanker explosions in the country which claimed hundreds of lives in January, 2025.
Describing the incidents as unfortunate, Agwanwor stated that the explosions were not just “a big blow to the NUPENG as a union”, he said the country also recorded huge loss of revenues and lives.
“It is quite unfortunate, for us as a union, we feel very bad because at the end of the day, we loss our members in the process, we loss tanker, we also loss the product, and somebody’s business is also affected because a marketer also invested on the product. So, such incidents are usually a big loss on our part and the nation as well, because both lives and revenues were lost.
“The major factor affecting the tankers is the nature or state of our roads, most of our roads are very bad, and the tankers navigating these roads with such high inflammable product, and if the truck mistakenly loses balance or falls, anything can happen.
“The government has to look at fixing all the major roads in this country for easy transportation of these products. We have written several letters on this, we have also done some protest on this too, which the government has also responded and they are fixing some of these roads, but the speed at which these road are been constructed is not encouraging, because we keep having these challenges.”
Agwanwor who also doubles as the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, in Rivers State stressed the need for more safety measures from the government on the roads.
He noted that NUPENG on their part is partnering with the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, to ensure things are put under control.
“There is need to put up more safety measures on the road to ensure these things don’t continue to happen as it happening right now.
“As a union, we have taken some measures from our end, one of it is partnership with the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, to make sure that our tanker drivers comply with all safety procedures in carrying out their duties and obligations.
“We also make sure that before any tanker leaves any depour, they must have all necessary requirements, we do check up and ensure the trucks have functional break system.
“The government has to also do their own part in making the roads motorable, because even if the tankers have their licenses, fire extinguisher, and all necessary requirements, if anything happens, and the tanker falls, maybe due to bad road or turning, there is little fire extinguisher can do to stop the flame.
“For us we feel very bad and its been very big loss to us because these things are happening consistently, and the government has to do something about it as soon as possible,” he said.
While stressing on fixing the roads, governments have been urged to use the proceeds from the removal of the oil subsidy to build good and reliable road network across the states and the country at large
This call from Nigerians came as a reaction to the constant falling or Explosion of petrol tankers while on the road
According to some stakeholders spoken to in Owerri, Imo State Capital, the dilapidated nature of some of the roads particularly the Federal Roads could be attributed to the bad state of the roads
In his own opinion, a former Director of works in the state ministry of works and Housing, Engr. Chibueze Amadigwe, said “these bad roads could be said to be responsible for the accidents involving the petrol tankers and other heavy duty trucks.”
Dr Amadigwe who retired from service about ten years ago, noted that negligence on the part of Government some times could be responsible
He explained further, ” when a report of a damaged portion of a road is made, governments some times would not respond promptly to such report until the road concerned gets to the point of dilapidation and becomes a death trap
Expressing his experience while in service, the retired Director of works, suggested that governments, both Federal and states should always respond promptly to information or reports relating to damaged portions of any road
According to him, ” governments should ensure constant road maintenance as it used to be past no matter how week the economy could be ”
In his own contribution, a tanker driver who lives in Owerri Imo state, Christopher Ezekwesiri said that the governments should set up at the national and state levels, a monitoring or surveillance team that would be operating on the highways to checkmate breach as it is done in other countries
He noted, ” In other countries, surveillance team is always is always in hand to apprehend any road offender particularly heavy truck drivers ”
Mr Ezekwesiri also said that designating routes or creating new roads for special heavy duty trucks will go a long way in alleviating this menace.
In view of the recurring tanker explosions across the nation, a mental health expert, Judith-Ada Chiroma, has underscored the need for strict trainings and mental health checks for tanker drivers.
Over 100 people died in the recent tragic tanker explosions in Niger and Enugu recorded in January 2025, hence recommendations to forestall such incident.
Chiroma, a clinical psychologist with the Idimma Health Initiative, in an interview with Daily Champion, noted that a driver’s mental state plays a big role in how safely he drives on the road.
She warned against ignoring psychological signs like extreme tiredness or lack of concentration, high irritability or aggressive behaviour, signs of substance abuse such as slurred speech, unsteady movements, paranoia or confusion, which could indicate underlying mental health issues.
“In Nigeria, tanker drivers often deal with long hours, poor road conditions, pressure to meet deadlines, and sometimes even drug use to stay awake.
“If a driver is stressed, tired, or under the influence, his judgment and reaction time will be poor. This can lead to dangerous mistakes like speeding, reckless overtaking, or falling asleep at the wheel, which can result in accidents and explosions,” Chiroma explained.
Stressing the need for psychological checkup, the expert advised, “before a driver embarks on a long journey with a tanker carrying flammable products, he should go through a psychological check-up.
“This can be done through: Mental health screening— Asking questions about stress levels, sleep habits, and emotional state.
“Substance use testing— Checking for alcohol or drug use, which can impair judgment.
“Cognitive and reflex tests – Ensuring the driver can think and react quickly in emergencies,” she said.
Dissuading residents from scooping fuel when a tanker falls, the psychologist advocated community vigilance and continuous awareness campaigns about the dangers of illegal fuel scooping.
“Many residents who rush to scoop fuel after a tanker accident do so out of poverty, desperation, and ignorance. They see it as a rare opportunity to get free fuel to sell or use, without considering the risk. Some may also feel pressured by others in the community to join in, thinking, ‘If I don’t take my share, someone else will.’
“Unfortunately, this mindset leads to reckless behavior, where safety is ignored in the pursuit of immediate gain. Some residents might also underestimate the risk, believing accidents won’t happen to them, she stated.
Chiroma charged government agencies and traditional leaders to respond promptly when an accident occurs for safety enforcement.
