Business

Shell Links 22% Deaths Globally To Road Accidents …Attributes Carnage, Fatalities To Drivers’ Recklessness

Published

6 years ago

June 11, 2018

The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of Nigeria Limited has attributed 22 per cent of deaths, estimated at 1.25million globally, to road accidents due largely to drivers’ recklessness, fatigue and drug abuse.
Speaking during a stakeholders’ forum titled: “Drivers’ Health And Road Safety, Taking Goal Zero Outside The Fence”, organised by SPDC, last Wednesday in Port Harcourt, Shell Regional Community Health Manager, Dr Akinwumi Fajola stated that road accidents have led to alot of deaths and casualties.
Fajola emphasised that Shell was already winning the fight against road accidents and other fatalities among staff, families, friends, colleagues and contractors through its ‘Goal Zero’ policy within the business, but added that following disturbing results of a recent study arising from its Health-In-Motion programmes in Port Harcourt and Lagos, the company decided to take the message beyond the Shell’s fence to other stakeholders, including the Federal Road Safety Commission, Rivers State Ministry of Transport, state and federal ministries of health, members of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) as well as Petroleum Tanker Drivers chapter of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers of Nigeria (NUPENG), and others involved in road and water transport business in the country to help reduce carnage and casualties on the roads and waterways.
“Shell runs a flagship programme called ‘Health-In-Motion,’ where we take health to the door steps of our communities and where they live and work because, for us, drivers’ health and road safety is very key, and unfortunately, in our environment, it has been relegated to the background for years.”
He noted that last year, Shell took healthcare to more than 2,500 drivers at Mile Three Motor Park in Diobu, Petroleum Tanker Drivers’ Park at Eleme in Rivers State and Ojota Motor Park in Lagos, and discovered that although majority of the drivers were educated, but were reckless on the roads due to a number of factors, including fatigue, drug abuse, passengers’ influence, poor vehicle maintenance records, among others.
Fajola challenged the stakeholders comprising FRSC, NURTW, NUPENG-PTD, transport and health practitioners in the public and private sectors, town and urban planners, NGOs, media, to work together to find the way forward through pragmatic suggestions to inform policy shift that would help reduce road accidents on the highways, particularly in the Niger Delta region.
While charging FRSC to ensure that drivers were subjected to all necessary body wellness, eye and mental tests before the issuance of drivers’ licenses as well as mobile clinics to track driver’s alcohol level on highways, he advocated strategic synergy between the drivers’ unions, local government authorities and the police to check sale of illicit drugs and alcohol in motor parks across the country.
Speaking on “Health: An Important Social Investment”, General Manager, External Relations, Igo Weli reiterated SPDC’s commitment to enhance the health of the people in the Niger Delta, as according to him, ‘health is wealth’, adding that Shell would rather stop oil production to guarantee the health and safety of people and the environment.
While appealing to Niger Delta people to create the enabling environment for businesses to thrive and for more global brands to invest and employ people in the region, Weli called on drivers to ensure their safety first as they drive, reminding them that if they lose their lives, they would have lost everything.
In his presentation on “Road Safety/Driver Health: A Public Health Issue?”, CEO of Nigeria Health Watch, Dr Ifeanyi Nsofor, said that an estimated 320 persons die every day from road accidents in Nigeria, comparing it to a crash of two Boeing 737 airplanes with over 150 passengers and crew in Nigerian airspace daily.
Nsofor attributed the high fatality figures to bad roads, drivers’ factor, including recklessness, intake of alcohol and illicit drugs before embarking on or during journeys, poor vehicle maintenance culture, fatigue due to restlessness and lack of enough sleep, as well as other passenger factor.
Also speaking, Chairman, NURTW, Rivers State chapter, Pastor Ominiayebagha Duma-Kalango said that the union was seriously involved in ensuring that drivers drive safely at all times, especially on the highways, and listed some strategies put in place to ensure drivers’ safety to include regular sensitization of drivers, drivers’ alcohol intake level and blood pressure tests, discouraging the sale of alcohol and other harmful drugs at the motor parks, among others.
He noted that the union was working in synergy with the FRSC to regularly organize sensitization programmes for drivers, but blamed the local government authorities who issue licenses to alcohol vendors in the parks and the law enforcement agencies, especially police for contributing to the rising carnage on the roads.
He commended SPDC for the onerous work they were doing in ensuring drivers’ safety in the Niger Delta, while charging other companies in the region to emulate SPDC’s social investments in drivers’ and road safety to save more lives.
In his remarks, Rivers State Commissioner for Transport, Hon Michael West assured that the Rivers State Government would do everything necessary to ensure that accidents on the roads were reduced to the barest minimum through regular sensitisation, road infrastructure development and deployment of road signs where necessary, and sanctioning of traffic offenders to serve as a deterrent to others.
Represented by the Director, Safety and Aviation, Engr Saya Antioch, West noted that the ministry was working in collaboration with the FRSC, NURTW and other stakeholders to ensure drivers undergo the necessary tests while defaulters were prosecuted, charging the FRSC on the need to include major drivers’ health challenges in the criteria for issuance of driver’s licenses.
Highlight of the event was the presentation of some tranquiliser equipment to representatives of the various drivers’ unions and other stakeholders.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana

Business

Fuel Scarcity: IPMAN threatens shutdown over bridging claims

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

The Tide

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Depot Chairmen Forum, has exonerated its members from the current fuel scarcity in the country.

According to IPMAN, this is caused by its inability to source petroleum products.

The IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum also threatened to withdraw its services over non-payment of N200 billion bridging claims by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to its members, since 2022.

Alhaji Yahaya Alhassan, the Chairman, of the Forum said this while briefing newsmen in Abuja, yesterday.

Alhassan said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) was the sole importer of the product, but the marketers could not source products from NNPC Ltd. deport, rather from the private depots at high rate.

“We cannot buy fuel from the private depots at N950 and transport the product from Lagos to the North and other parts of the country with N2 million and still sell it at N900 or N1, 000.

“It is expedient for us to state that we are more pained by the non-availability of petroleum products in the country, which has given rise to another round of untold hardship for Nigerians.

“Contrary to claims that IPMAN members are hoarding Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as fuel, we would like to categorically state that PMS scarcity is wholly triggered by inability to get fuel from NNPC and not IPMAN,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the NNPC Ltd. Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye said the disruption was due to logistical issues which had since been resolved.

“We currently have an availability of products exceeding 1.5 billion litres, which can last for at least 30 days. Unfortunately, we experienced a three-day disruption in distribution due to logistical issues, which has since been resolved.

“However, as you know, overcoming such disruptions typically requires double the amount of time to return to normal operations.

“Some folks are taking advantage of this situation to maximise profits. Thankfully, product scarcity has been minimal lately, but these folks might be exploiting the situation for unwarranted gain,’’ Soneye said.

He however, said the lines would clear out soon.

On the non-payment of bridging claims, the IPMAN forum said it was distressed and depressed by the laidback attitude of the NMDPRA towards the survival its member’s businesses, arising from its refusal in paying the claims.

“It is with deep frustration that we have assembled here today as the IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum. It is also disheartening to note that some of our members have completely shut down businesses and retrenched employees.

“As businessmen and women, our members acquired bank loans to keep their fuel retail outlets running on a daily basis across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria in order to serve the teeming population of Nigerians,’’ Alhassan said.

He recalled that Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), at a stakeholders meeting in February mandated the NMDPRA management to clear the entire debt in 40 days.

“However, today, we have crossed the 40 days’ time lapse given to the NMDPRA to clear the debt, and it is shameful to state that only the paltry sum of N13 billion has been paid, ignoring minister’s directive.

“We are not happy with the indiscriminate increment in the issuance and renewal of Sales and Storage Licence, by the NMDPRA, and the subsequent delays in acquiring the licence, which our members are recently subjected to.

“We are also calling on President Bola Tinubu to look into this unwholesome figure which is highly detrimental to our business and reverse it forthwith, as it is bound to impact negatively on the masses.

“We are poised to take far reaching decisions that may cripple the supply and sales of petroleum products across Nigeria if our demands are not met within the shortest period of time.

“We are collectively prepared to withdraw our services, shut down every single outlet, and suspend lifting of products forthwith till our demands are fully met, and the consequences will be terrible.

“We call on our members to however remain resolute and law abiding, even as we draw close to the immediate ultimatum for our demands to be met by the NMDPRA,’’ the chairman said.

Reacting to the IPMAN’s claims, the Acting Head, Corporate Communications, NMDPRA, Seiyefa Osanebi said the bridging claims payment was ongoing.

“The bridging claims payment is always an ongoing process,” she said.

Maritime

Shippers’ Council Registers 160 Port Operators

Published

6 days ago

April 29, 2024

The Tide

The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) says it has registered 160 Port stakeholders into its Regulated Port Service Provider and Users platform since the initiative began in 2023.
Executive Secretary, NSC, Mr Pius Akutah, made the disclosure on the sideline of a sensitisation programme by the commission for port operators in Lagos, with the theme, “Regulated Port Service Provider and Users”.
Represented by the Director, Consumer Affairs, Chief Cajetan Agu, Akutah emphasised the significance of the programme for stakeholders.
He said the sensitisation programme was the second edition after its commencement during the last quarter of 2023.
The Secretary said the 160 registered port operators consist of agencies, terminal operators, shipping companies, individual port users as well as service providers.
“We invited the ports stakeholders for enlightening them on the processes for online registration of Regulated Port Service Provider and Users.
“We have demonstrated to them how to register and how to make payment and we were able to present before them the various categories of the registration.
“The rate of payment is also in the registration. The payment of each group depends on the operation. A shipper pays N30,000, terminal operators and shipping companies pay N300,000, truckers also pay N30,000, while some pay N50,000 and N100,000.
“The Council was able to intimate them on the benefits, because port users benefit more as we help to interface on reducing port charges from time to time”, Akutah said.
He said that there was a need to continue to work with port operators to stop delays and eliminate high costs to make the port efficient.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director, Stakeholders, Service, NSC, Mr Celestine Akujobi, said “the sensitisation exercise was important for the council to enable us bring all the port stakeholders together”.
According to him, this is to avoid challenges during the implementation of the council’s responsibilities.
“By the time we introduce sanctions on defaulters, no operators will complain that he or she is not aware of the registration.
“I’m happy with the turnout of this sensitisation. This shows that the operators are well informed of the statutory friction of the council as the port regulator.
“The final implementation will commence as soon as we discover that all the operators have keyed into the portal.
“We are engaging other ports across the country and we’re hopeful that before the last quater of 2024, the council will implement sanctions on defaulting operators”, Akujobi said.
Earlier, Vice Chairman, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwards (NAGAFF), Dr Ifeanyi Emoh, said port challenges were enormous, adding that they originated from some of the government agencies.

Emoh urged the council to look into regulating other government agencies, so that there could be a window through which they can collect port charges collectively instead of indiscriminately.

By: Chinedu Wosu