NewStats: 3,259,243 , 8,169,586 topics. Date: Saturday, 24 May 2025 at 01:12 PM 2f2k4s

Tanker drivers threaten to stop petrol lifting Monday

Nigeria may witness another round of fuel scarcity as the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, on Thursday, vowed to stop lifting petroleum products beginning from next week Monday due to the high cost of operations.

NARTO have repeatedly raised concern over the high cost of diesel required to power their trucks for the transportation of petroleum products across the country.

Oil marketers told our correspondent on Thursday that diesel price is between N1,250 to N1,400/litre depending on the area of purchase.

NARTO’s President, Yusuf Othman, in a statement he issued in Abuja on Thursday, said the statement was an official announcement from the association’s headquarters that of the group 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.

Othman said NARTO had being operating at a loss and it was no longer sustainable for them to endure the losses.

“We will have to suspend operations latest from now till on Monday. We cannot continue to operate at a loss. Most people have parked. A lot more are going to park. But from the point of the association itself, we are going to suspend operations on Monday,” he stated.

He said NARTO’s efforts to get the intervention of key stakeholders, the Federal Government and industry operators had not yielded positive results.

The NARTO president said the association had written letters on the unbearable cost of operations to the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu; Minister of Petroleum Resources; Department of State Services; Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority; Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited; and oil marketers.

“We have written letters up to the level of the Chief of Staff to the President. We have written to the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil). We have written to the Director-General of SSS. We have written to NNPC’s boss. We have written to the NMDPRA. We have written to the major marketers,” Othman stated.

He stressed that despite the letters, there has been “no response.”

Analysing the market situation, which the have endured for several months, he stated that the same freight rate that applied when former President Muhammadu Buhari was in ruling, was still subsisting.

“The Lagos to Abuja freight rate that was implemented when the dollar was N650 is still retained now that dollar is N1,615. Everybody is aware that all our consumables in of operation are not produced in the country.

“So, by virtue of the rate of dollars, every consumables has increased. But the freight they are paying us has been the same since Buhari’s time. So how is that feasible? During Buhari’s time, one dollar was N650. Today, dollar is N1,615. The average freight from Lagos to Abuja is N32,” he stated.

Othman further explained that “what I mean by local is that when you load in Lagos, you discharge in Lagos. And bridging means that when you load from Lagos, you come to Abuja. Lagos to Lagos, we are paid N120,000.

“AGO (diesel) alone to distribute fuel within Lagos is N140,000 because it is N1,400/litre. So, they give you N120,000 and you spend N140,000. So how do you want to operate? You’ve not talked about the cost of vehicles, cost of loading, driver’s allowance. That is for local.”

He stated that the cost of moving products out of Lagos or Warri to other states was far higher than what the government was paying to tanker drivers as bridging claims.

The government pays an agreed sum to transporters of petroleum products as bridging claims in order to ensure equality in the pump prices of these products across states, though this has not been the case.

NARTO is the umbrella organisation for commercial vehicle owners in Nigeria. The association represents the interests of those involved in haulage of petroleum products, general cargoes and enger movement within the country and the West African sub-region.

NARTO has expressed several concerns regarding transporting petroleum products in Nigeria, impacting both their and the overall efficiency of the process.

It has complained of poor road conditions, as frequent potholes, dilapidated bridges, and lack of proper maintenance lead to increased wear and tear on vehicles, higher running costs and longer journey times.

The association has also raised concern about traffic congestion, particularly around ports and depots, as this adds significantly to delivery delays and further increases operational costs.

On inadequate parking facilities, NARTO had stated that the lack of safe and designated parking areas often forced drivers to park in unsafe locations, leading to security risks and fatigue.

It had also raised concerns about the multiple checkpoints in Nigeria, as numerous security checkpoints could cause unnecessary delays and harassment for drivers.

Another issue is delayed payments, as late payments from oil marketers create cash flow problems for transporters.

Also the association has called for safety, because the theft of petroleum products, pipeline vandalism and other security threats create risks for drivers and equipment.

On policy and regulatory concerns, NARTO had observed that some depots limit access to specific transporters, impacting competition and efficiency.

It had stated that inconsistent or ambiguous regulations could lead to confusion and enforcement challenges, adding that transporters often struggled to access affordable financing for vehicle maintenance and upgrades.

https://punchng.com/tanker-drivers-threaten-to-stop-petrol-lifting-monday/

If it is really not profitable, then sit down for house.

Hmm.... Another wahala

That major protest that ive been predicting. It is well with Nigeria. We are at a tipping point. Na small thing remain

Don’t worry Tinubu will fix it

With the way everything is spilling out of control, I see a big revolution in Nigeria forced by hunger.

Our leaders are still sleeping.


The future is gloomy.

TINUBU WILL HANDLE ECONOMY 😆😆😆

Go ahead

I have been seeing long queues returning since yesterday morning. Now, I was right what I told my friend when returning from work yesterday. The queues were not normal. I hope their blind ers won't say this is caused the opposition, as if they get commodities free of charge

Inflation looms ahead

Hmmmmmmm

make everybody quit joor , make everyone eyes clear that democracy is not for us

Dollar problem bringing our nation to it's knees. We must remove dollar monopoly from our imports system, and sell our crude and gas in naira, this will strengthen naira.

Akfrenzy:
TINUBU WILL HANDLE ECONOMY 😆😆😆

Shettima will handle insecurity.


Look where it has landed us

APC is __________

We are getting there gradually......Bat Man, give me water please.....

To the mod that banned me for a full month, because you are biased, na so dem go pend your life..
Some of you mod can not be a judge in real life, you guys will be worse than the worst set of corrupt lawyers we have.

Peter Obi must learn this lesson we are teaching him in a hard way.

Please oo, it's been long I left Nairaland. I want to know how these staunch ers of APC are doing.

Do they still talk anyhow again?

Grab it, snatch it, and runaway with it.

He did it in Lagos, Dubai and America, he'll also do it in Nigeria.
Man is clueless on how to govern Nigeria cos his brain is long dead.

on your senile mandate we will stand

Useless Country!

Tinubu tumbled Nigeria upside down. This is just the beginning

to think that some people actually expect tinubu to do well as a president is beyond delusional and dumb ,,

the man has nothing to offer same with the previous old Fulani man
when baba blue is done with you all , una go hear shege

When are they quitting?

We are getting to that rubicon point in Nigeria when the masses will revolt against the government.

Their is anger and frustration in the land no doubt.

Obi is the cause of everything that is happening in Nigeria.
Tinubu built Lagos and South Africa he'll build Nigeria.
Let's give him ten more years.

Johnjustice:
Dollar problem bringing our nation to it's knees. We must remove dollar monopoly from our imports system, and sell our crude and gas in naira, this will strengthen naira.

Tell them to expose those behind subsidy scam, also tell them to freeze dollars stashed in the various bank s which I doubt they'd do because it would be as good as shooting themselves in the leg. They're the ones who own most of the dollars. My friend who went and ed us army as a nurse was busy saving his money in an with his wife. One day they blocked the money and asked why were they saving so much and untouched, asking them to come and explain. There's over 30bn USD in the various bank s owned by the majority of these politicians and bank directors who are their SPVs. They're our main problem. I hope the masses would be bold enough to confront them someday

Lastly, tell them to stop corruption and reduce cost of governance by a large percentage in reflection of the current economic woes. How can law makers be asking executives to release grains to the population as if that grains flow like water which can't finish? What happens once grains are exhausted from their buffer?

I was expecting them to say they'd reduce their allowances and give to the executive to import food items in a short term but none of them ever said this during their plenaries.

Tinubulation in Tinubunomics

Ook oo

Why go on strike over costs of business?!!

Add the cost to your charges, so the retailers/marketers can push up their own pump prices.

Isn't that what all these are about?!! Increasing the price of petroleum products!

Abi, una dey expect special Subsidy?!!! SMH.



Nigerians should brace up... #1200 per Liter for Petrol is almost upon us.