The government of Niger State has urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL) to establish truck transit parks in some strategic parts of the state to reduce traffic on highways.

The government identified towns such as Tafa, Suleja, Mokwa, Bida, Tegina, Lambata and Minna as major areas to be given attention in that regard.

Abubakar Idris, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Mineral Resources in Niger, made the call during the meeting of the National Council on Hydrocarbons organised by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in collaboration with the state government.

According to him, establishing the parks in the identified areas will reduce traffic on highways and generate revenue for the state and the country.

Mr Idris presented a memorandum from the state government to the council on the need to establish transit parks.

He explained further that the trucking industry was indispensable to the Nigerian economy as “truckers are responsible for delivering fuel from depots to filling stations where they are dispensed.

“For these reasons, funds need to be released to build truck parks for ease of operations”.

He also called for the establishment of a frontier basin development commission with its headquarters in Niger.

According to him, the commission’s establishment will expedite the effective implementation of the Petroleum Host Community Trust Fund and frontier basin exploration fund as captured in the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, with headquarters in Niger.

He noted that establishing the frontier basin development commission would offer greater opportunities to actualise the state dream of oil and gas economic value-chain and industrialisation in Nigerian frontier basins.

(NAN)