Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has threatened to cripple economic activities by withdrawing the services of its members nationwide over the challenges posed by the N430 per litre cost of diesel and other operational challenges.
The group said on Monday that operational cost of doing business in Nigeria for its members has become unbearable.
NARTO national president, Comrade Yusuf Lawal Othman, the difficulties being encountered by members are the reasons some states in the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has been struggling with fuel scarcity despite promises of sufficient petroleum products by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), adding that the situation would escalate across the country soon.
The association had earlier decried the delay in the payment of about N45 billion bridging cost, demanding for an increase in the transportation allowance factored into the pump price of petrol but the continuation of the payment of petrol subsidy meant that the freight cost would remain.
The federal government had hinted of a 20% hike in the cost of freighting petrol across the country, as part of measures to boost the revenue of transport owners. The increase would upped the cost of bridging petrol to N9.11 per litre from N7.51 in the petrol pricing template of Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).
Othman said his NARTO would mobilize its members (tanker drivers) to park their vehicles and do nothing “if nothing is done because we can’t operate in such way. Therefore, transporters whose freight rate is fixed and regulated cannot sustain the business if nothing is done.
“We can’t operate. We can’t work if nothing is done to increase the freight rate. The condition is unbearable because of cost of diesel,” he said.
The group national president posited that only remedy is for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to increase the freight rate without delay, to reflect the present cost of diesel and vehicle spare parts.
As at Monday, the ex-depot cost of diesel stood at N401 per litre. Expressing fear that the figure might move up to N420 per liter any soon at the filling stations, he said “if something is not done urgently.”
Othman urged the federal government to convene a stakeholder meeting to increase the freight rate and address other pressing issues of cost of operation.
“We are appealing to the CEOs of various regulatory agencies. Let them sit down with us immediately and ensure that the freight rate is increased to reflect the rising cost of diesel and other spare parts,” Othman said.
“We have a problem. Today, the price of AGO ex-depot is N401 per litre. It means that in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, it will reach N420 to N430. At the filling station it will reach like N450.
“It is just to regulate our rising operation cost. It is as simple as that. Otherwise, our people have parked their trucks and more people are going to park.”
By Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja
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