SON To Sanction Sub-standard Oil Tank Manufacturers

Oil tank manufacturers who fail to comply with laid down standards will now be sanctioned, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) warned in Kaduna on Monday.

Its Kaduna Zonal Coordinator, Malam Usman Mohammed, told newsmen that the manufacturers had been given up to the end of October to comply strictly with the set criteria or face the wrath of the law.

He said SON had observed that manufacturers of such tanks overlooked certain criteria such as the thickness of the tanks, thereby endangering the lives of people.

“Some of the oil tanks are time-bombs waiting to explode,” he said.

“SON had a sensitisation meeting with some of the manufacturing companies on the dangers of producing substandard tanks.”

Mohammed said the meeting was held to remind the manufacturers of the required standards as well as advise them on the need to form an association that would regulate their activities.

Mrs Roke Balogun, of Armeco Arewa Metal Companies Ltd, a tank manufacturer in Kaduna, said the company had complied strictly with SON specifications and assured the firm’s customers of quality product delivery.

Similarly, Malam Ibrahim Tafa, a tanker driver, said although he had been driving oil tankers in the past eight years, he had never been involved in an accident.