The Petroleum Tanker Drivers branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers has commenced a training programme for fuel tanker drivers in a bid to curb road accidents.
The PTD said the number of accidents involving tankers had reduced since the yearly programme started in 2016.
The Organising Committee for the programme, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, said at the commencement of the training in Lagos that the initiative was aimed at ensuring safety on the highways.
Korodo, who is immediate past Chairman of NUPENG Lagos Zone, said, “The National President, PTD, Mr Salimon Oladiti, is never pleased when he sees accidents involving tanker drivers, and he is also of the opinion that we need to train and retrain them periodically to reduce road accidents, so that the drivers will know what to do at any time and that will reduce accidents involving tanker drivers.”
According to him, a total of 4,500 drivers were trained nationwide last year, including over 1,000 in Lagos.
He said, “This year, this is the first time we are training them. We chose this time because of the festivity that will soon come up which is when we normally record road accidents.
“The Federal Road Safety Corps boss, Boboye Oyeyemi, while addressing the participants, made us to understand that since we started this training programme in 2016, the number of road accidents has reduced. In 2016, we recorded 282 accidents that involved tankers but the following year, it reduced to 240. This year, we have 196 accidents that involved tankers.”
Korodo added, “Our effort has had impact. But we are still not pleased with this figure; it is still high. The national president, in his opening address, told the participants that what he wants is an accident-free period.
“We know accident at times is an inevitable thing but we believe it can be reduced significantly. That is the core target of this training, and we are getting closer to achieving this. Each depot is sending 20 to 30 drivers to be part of this training and we give them certificates to show that they have been trained.
“So, if they want to load, they must show evidence that they have passed through this training. Any member that is found misbehaving on the road would be dealt with. What we are trying to do is to have firm control of our members and ensure that they behave well so that they won’t have any clash with other road users.”
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