Marketers seek compensation over ban on 60,000Ltr trucks

Marketers under the umbrella of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have vowed to request the federal government to compensate their losses due to the ban on loading of trucks in excess of 60,000 litres at the depots.

Its national president, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi broke the news to The Nation through a telephone interview.

He said the association would demand for the compensation after computation of the losses.

The IPMAN boss said, “IPMAN is going to request the Federal Government to compensate those that have been affected. They invested in the trucks and served the country with them.

Now they are incurring losses owing to the ban, the government has to compensate them.”

He confirmed that the enforcement of the ban took effect from March 1st, 2025 following the declaration of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Maigandi however said the enforcement has only affected the marketers owning trucks in excess of 60,000 litres.

Meanwhile, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) differed from IPMAN.

Speaking with The Nation on phone, PETROAN National President Dr Billy Hary on phone, said everybody has to make sacrifices and there was no need seeking compensation.

He said although the ban mostly affected PETROAN and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), they were part of the stakeholders who made the decision to ban the trucks in excess of 60,000 litres from loading at the depots.

His words: “It is a sacrifice everybody needs to make. NARTO and PETROAN are mostly affected.

“The decision was not made by the government itself but by us the stakeholders at a meeting.

“We don’t have losses to cry about. We have decided it is a sacrifice we have to make. So, there is nothing to cry about.”

Recall that the NMDPRA had on February 19 announced the ban trucks carrying over 60,000 litres of hydrocarbon products from loading from depots effective from 1st March 2025.

It also announced that from the Fourth Quarter of 2025, no truck carrying more than 45,000 litres of petroleum products shall be allowed to load from the depots.

Executive Director, Distribution System, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, Ogbugo Ukoha who made the disclosure said it was sequel to the meeting the Authority held with stakeholders in the industry owing to the reoccurring accidents and explosion due to over loaded petroleum products trucks.

His words: “Beginning 1st March, trucks with capacity in excess with 60,000 litres will not be allowed to load in any loading depot of petroleum products.

“By Q4 2025, we will also go to preclude the loading of transportation of petroleum products of any truck in excess of 45,000 litres. That is the breaking news for today.”

He said the ban is in phases in order to allow the investors time to adjust to the directive.

According to him, the investors, especially trucks owners need time to redesign the trucks and redirect their funding.

He said the stakeholders that held the consensus decision at the meeting were the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), SON, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) among others.

“Breaking news about that today is that in today’s meeting comprising DSS, FERMA, Federal Fire Service, Road Safety, NARTO, NUPENG, MEMAN, PETROAN, IPMAN, DAPMAN, SON,” he said.