Petrol Tanker Drivers To Halt Operations over Inflation

The Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has declared its intention to halt operations starting from Monday.

Alhaji Yusuf Lawal Othman, the national president of NARTO, issued an official press statement from Abuja, confirming that the association’s members will park their trucks due to the escalating operating costs.

Othaman claimed that despite efforts to seek intervention from key stakeholders in the federal government and industry, the situation remains unresolved.

NARTO also communicated the unbearable cost of operation to various authorities, including the Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS).

Others were the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) Chief Executive Officer, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Group Chief Executive Officer, and other relevant parties.

He stated that the freight rate of N32 for the Lagos to Abuja route, which was established during President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure, persists even as the exchange rate has shifted from N650 to N1,615 per dollar.

He said:
“What we spend on operation is more than what we get in total: both in local and bridging.

“We will have to suspend operations from 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 view of the association itself, we are going to suspend operations on Monday.

“Everybody is aware that all our consumables in terms of operation are not produced in the country.

“So, by virtue of the rate of dollars, every consumable has increased. But the freight they are paying us has been the same even during Buhari’s time.

“So how is that feasible? During Buhari’s time, the dollar was N650. Today, the dollar is now N1,615. The average freight from Lagos to Abuja is N32.

“What I mean by local, you load Lagos, you discharge in Lagos. And bridging, you load from Lagos, you come to Abuja. Lagos to Lagos, we are paid N120,000.

“AGO alone to distribute fuel within Lagos is N140,000 because it is N1,400 per litre. So, they give you N120,000 and you spend N140,000. So, how do you want to operate?

“Talk less about the cost of vehicles, cost of loading, driver’s allowance. That is for local. For bridging Lagos to Abuja, they gave us N32.

“If you have a truck of 40,000 litres, you are talking of N1,280,000-N1,216,000. Less 5% of the amount of N1,280,000 Withholding Tax N64,000. Less 55,000 loading expenses and 15,000 driver allowance. Total expenses N134,000 while balance is N1,146,000. AGO is N1400 for 900 litres, totalling N1260,000.

“There is a total loss of N114,000.

“The diesel that you use from Lagos to Abuja is 900 litres.

“So when you use 900 litres at 1,400, that will be N1,260,000. So it is by far more than what are paid.

“Meanwhile the cost of a new truck head and tank is N95 million and the used one is N50 million. So imagine the amount invested on each truck?”