Alhaji Othman who disclosed this at NARTO’s 22 Annual
General Meeting in Abuja, yesterday, however lamented that the benefit from the
increase has been wiped out by the hike in the price of diesel to N635 per
litre.
He said with the rise in the cost of diesel due to the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, the group may have to go back to the Federal
Government for another review.
He noted that the “price of diesel is impacting on our
business, not only us but all activities in Nigeria. This is because as at
today fuel is imported into Nigeria and it is usually at the international
price and everybody in Nigeria knows that the international price is now
affected by the current war between Ukraine and Russia”.
While thanking the government for approving the increase, he
pointed out that “the increase would not have been noticed due to the price of
diesel but we know that this is temporary because of the war. So we are
positive that in the nearest future, the increase will impact on our business.
But if things continue to go up as it is now, we will have no option than to go
back to the government”.
He said NARTO was in discussion with tanker divers to raise
their salaries and allowances in order to create a good working environment in
the sector.
He admitted that the NARTO members were operating under
difficult business environment in the country.
“We are aware of the difficult conditions our members are
operating in. We are doing everything possible to ease these difficulties. To
this end, I am pleased to inform you that 25 percent increase in freight rate
has been approved by the government. Though this might not be adequate but it
is the best we can get under the existing PMS (premium motor spirit) Pricing
Template of N165 per litre.
“Bad roads have continued to be a stumbling block towards
the safe and efficient movement of goods, services, and passengers throughout
the country. Many reports have been received of delays in meeting up critical
delivery deadlines, vehicle breakdowns and accidents due to bad road conditions
throughout the country”.
Away from the transportation of petroleum products, Alhaji
Othman disclosed that with the collaboration of the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN), NARTO members in past one year successfully freighted 2,000 tons of
fertilizers in 2020 from Lagos to different parts of the country, 14,000 tons
of wheat seeds in 2021 from Lagos to different parts of the country and
41,431.60 tons of fertilizers in 2022 from Port Harcourt to different parts of
the country.
He expressed satisfaction at the level of N621 billion NNPC
Limited road intervention fund implementation, stressing that work has
progressed well on the designated roads.
Earlier, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde
Fashola assured the road transport owners that the government was working hard
to ensure that the roads were put in good condition before the onset of the
raining season.
On his part, the Chief Executive of Nigerian Midstream and
Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed said: “The
Authority is not unaware of the various challenges currently confronting the
Petroleum Industry specifically with regards to Petroleum Products haulage and
transportation, and we believe they are surmountable with dedication and
selfless services from all key stakeholders”.
Mr. Ahmed was represented by Executive Director,
Distributions System, Storage and Retail Infrastructure, Ogbugo Ukoha.
0 comments:
Post a Comment