The Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union (PTD) have announced the suspension of the proposed strike action following the intervention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC).
The decision to suspend the strike was reached on Thursday night after an intervention by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, led to an agreement with other stakeholders to amicably resolve all pending issues.
NARTO had last week threatened to withdraw haulage service should the Federal Government fail to urgently address the rising cost of operation that its members are facing.
Top on the list, according to the union, is the ever-increasing cost of diesel, which petrol tankers run on and which is part of the determinants of freight charges. The cost of diesel presently is N430 per litre.
However, a communique issued after a critical stakeholders meeting on Thursday in Abuja between the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Agency, (NMDPRA) and NNPC, said all parties have agreed to work closely to ensure efficient distribution of petroleum products across the country.
The communique signed by NNPC GMD, Mele Kyari; Otunba S. A. Oladiti and Mr Yusuf Otthman, national chairman of PTD and NARTO President respectively as well as Comrade Williams Akporeha, NUPENG President and Abiodun Adeniji, ED F&A, NMDPRA, further agreed that the NNPC should provide updates on the current status of the road construction and rehabilitation projects under the road infrastructure tax credit scheme and assured the stakeholders (NUPENG, NARTO and PTD) that the funding earmarked for the 21 critical roads will be applied for the intended purpose only.
The meeting agreed that NNPC and all parties should commit to working together in the monitoring of the road projects.
The stakeholders requested for completion of the ongoing discussion on the review of the freight rates to cover operational costs and highlighted the precarious situation that truck owners face in the light of current economic realities.
Also, the NMDPRA informed the meeting that a committee has been constituted to review the rates which include PTD, NARTO and NUPENG in addition to other stakeholders.
In addition, all parties agreed to work expeditiously towards concluding the review of the freight rate and make recommendations to the government.
“All parties agreed to work expeditiously towards concluding the review of the freight rate and make recommendations to the Government. The Authority to advise on definite close-out date during the week of 21st February 2022.
“Collaboration on ensuring Nationwide availability of petroleum products
“All parties agreed to work closely to ensure efficient distribution of petroleum products across the country”.
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