The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has reiterated that it is a criminal offence to collect spilt fuel from overturned or distressed tankers.
The authority has, therefore, cautioned the public to avoid the dangerous practice of attempting to siphon fuel at tanker accident scenes or face prosecution.
The Volta Regional Manager of the NPA, Prospero Kojo Cyriaano-Olympio, warned, “any unruly individual or group identified for such acts will face the full rigours of the law,” he maintained.
Mr Cyriaano-Olympio sounded the caution at the EweZa Development Forum 2026 at Sogakope last Saturday.
The event, organised by a development-focused group, EweZa Foundation and partly sponsored by the NPA, was on the theme: “A Vision for the Future of the Volta Region.”
The objective was to promote investment, attract strategic partnerships, and mobilise resources to unlock the region’s potential in tourism, agriculture, industry, youth employment, entrepreneurship and culture.
It was also to secure support for flagship initiatives such as the Volta Automotive and Mobility Hub, the EweZa Green Harvest Initiative, and the EweZa National Culture Challenge.
Mr Cyriaano-Olympio said no quantity of fuel was worth a human life, adding a single spark was enough to trigger a massive explosion capable of causing multiple and widespread destruction.
Meanwhile, he said, the NPA had intensified its ‘Stay Back Stay Safe’ campaign, which sought to educate the public on the dangers of approaching fuel tankers at accident scenes.
The NPA Volta regional manager said the country had witnessed several incidents where people rushed to siphon fuel tankers at accident scenes, resulting in needless deaths, severe injuries and destruction of property.
He urged witnesses to tanker accidents to promptly alert the Ghana National Fire Service and the relevant security agencies.
Mr Cyriaano-Olympio appealed to traditional authorities, assemblies, opinion leaders, faith-based organisations, and youth groups to vigorously support the ‘Stay Back Stay Safe’ campaign to ensure safety in the communities.
He said the region needed healthy people to tap its vast development potential.
The founder and Executive Director of the EweZa Foundation, Sebastian Michael Nunya Kuwornu, said the initiative was part of the foundation's long-term commitment to preserving identity, empowering people, creating opportunities and building a future worthy of the next generation.
“The future of the Volta Region will not be determined by what we just possess; it will be determined by what we choose to build together,” he added.
