The Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners has lifted the approximately two-day suspension of petroleum products lifting operations, as confirmed by NARTO in Abuja on Tuesday evening.
The Federal Government’s intervention, spearheaded by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, played a pivotal role in this decision.
Lokpobiri and NARTO President Yusuf Othman informed journalists that stakeholders in the downstream oil sector had reached an agreement to increase the freight rate for petroleum transporters and gradually address other concerns raised by tanker operators.
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Participants at the Abuja meeting included officials from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, led by Chief Executive Farouk Ahmed, as well as representatives from the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, and other key stakeholders.
As reported on Friday, Nigeria faced the prospect of another fuel scarcity as NARTO pledged to cease lifting petroleum products starting from Monday due to escalating operational costs.
NARTO members have consistently expressed concerns about the exorbitant cost of diesel required to fuel their trucks for the nationwide transportation of petroleum products.
According to oil marketers, diesel prices ranged from N1,250 to N1,400 per liter, depending on the purchase location. NARTO’s President, Yusuf Othman, issued an official statement in Abuja on Thursday, declaring that members of the association would park their trucks from Monday.
“Why? It is because what we spend on operations is more than what we get in total, both in local and bridging,” he stated. But after the meeting on Tuesday, he confirmed that the strike by the association had been called off, and urged NARTO members to resume operations.
“The suspension of operations has been called off because we have reached some agreements and there is going to be improvement in our freight rate going forward. So we urge our members to resume operations to reduce the plights of Nigerians,” Othman stated.
