The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, has assured that his ministry would partner with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to campaign for safer road environment.
Lokpobiri stated this yesterday in his office when the Corps Marshal of FRSC, Shehu Mohammed, paid him a courtesy visit.
In a statement signed by Corps Public Education Officer of the FRSC, Olusegun Ogungbemide, he congratulated the corp marshal on his appointment and noted the National Road Safety Strategy which was inaugurated by the vice president last week, adding that stakeholders would work harmoniously to ensure safety on the nation’s highways.
He commended the FRSC for its commitment to road safety as evidenced by the successes recorded in the areas of Road Transport Safety Standardisation Scheme, drivers’ certification and other public enlightenment programmes that have led to drastic reduction in the rate of road traffic crashes.
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Lokpobiri expressed over the frequent cases of crashes involving petroleum tankers some of which resulted in fire incidents with losses of lives and property.
He stressed that even as the ministry would have preferred the use of pipelines as veritable means of transporting petroleum products, but the current hazards as well as the cost involved in replacing the pipes have made it impracticable at the moment.
He therefore solicited the support of the FRSC to properly streamline the activities of drivers at the depots with a view to ensuring that only tankers that meet the minimum safety standards load petroleum products from such facilities.
The minister expressed the willingness of the ministry to support the FRSC with logistics and training to enhance the capacity and efficiency of its personnel in road traffic management.
Earlier, the corps marshal commended the minister for the positive reforms being embarked upon in the petroleum industry in Nigeria by the current leadership.
Mohammed disclosed that as part of the FRSC’s commitment to safety in the movement of petroleum products, personnel of the corps are being deployed to major depots across the country to ensure compliance to safety rules and regulations with particular reference with the policy on safe to load.
He requested the minister to assist the corps with some logistics including patrol vehicles and ambulance for enhanced road surveillance and prompt response to distress calls.
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