By Veronica Duru
The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGi) has called for a better monitoring of articulated vehicles for brake safety and compliance with maintenance requirements.
The P-CNGi, while commiserating with the victims of the accident and their relatives, called for more safety awareness and adherence to safety protocols at accident scenes.
The Chief Executive and Programme Director, PCNGi, Mr Michael Oluwagbemi, made the call on Thursday, while inspecting the scene of the tragic truck accident that occurred at Karu bridge, on the Abuja-Keffi 
Highway.
“P-CNGi is committed to continued safety of Nigerian road users as it promotes alternative sources of energy that is cheaper, safer and more reliable for the economic development of the nation,” he said.
He underscored the need to ensure a proper licensing regime for commercial drivers, that require both safety and evacuation training.
He also called for better monitoring of articulated trucks for brake safety and compliance with maintenance requirements, while ensuring a proper licensing regime for commercial drivers that require both safety and evacuation training.
The P-CNGi boss reiterated the intrinsic safety of CNG vehicles, in view of the preliminary findings and calls on Nigerians to exercise patience, to enable the authorities to get to the root cause of the accident.
He called on relevant stakeholders to work towards a better monitored gas vehicle ecosystem with the proposed launch of the Nigerian Gas Vehicle Monitoring System (NGVMS).
Oluwagbemi inspected the scene of the unfortunate accident at Karu bridge, alongside officials of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), who were conducting investigations too.
The truck had exploded on Wednesday night after it lost control and rammed into vehicles stuck in traffic, which saw about 14 vehicles burnt, while six people died.
