He noted that the union is offering its services at a loss due to the cost of subsidy removal and the rise in the cost of the dollar.

The union, however, called on the Federal Government to come up with policies aimed at alleviating the plight of truck drivers in the country.

Represented by the Union’s Coordinator of National Operations, Kassim Bataiya, at a meeting between the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), NARTO, and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria in Abuja on Friday, Lawal highlighted the critical role of truck drivers in the petroleum products supply chain.

According to Bataiya, the movement of petroleum products and supplies relies on petroleum tankers and trucks which makes the road too busy and prone to damage all the time.

“After nobody expressed willingness to negotiate with us, we had no option but to park the trucks and wait for further intervention. It is unfortunate that our services are not recognized by the Federal Government and even by the citizens of this country.

“Let me give you a typical example. We are paid N30 per litre to lift Petroleum Motor Spirit from Lagos to the NNPC depot in Suleja. N30 per litre of 40,000 litres is N1.2m.

“The truck consumes a minimum of 900 litres of diesel at N1,500 per litre which is about N1.450m, which is N250 above the fret rate.

“The N1.3m fret rate is subject to 5 per cent withholding tax deducted and payable to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which is shared to the three tiers of government without even thinking or considering the drivers allowance, wages, salaries. So, it is difficult if not impossible for a transporter to load a truck from Lagos to any depot .

“The emergence of NARTO was as a result of the failure of NNPC now NNPCL to put our pipelines in operation. If we had our pipelines across the country which were designed to move petroleum products from where it was produced or imported to the various NNPC deports across Nigeria, we wouldn’t have these problems.

“We are happy that the committee invited us to this meeting at this crucial time in our nation’s history where our economy is faced with high inflation and the deteriorating exchange rate of the naira.”

Bataiya further explained that transporters in Nigeria, especially petroleum transporters, are working under extreme operational challenges which include the high cost of vehicle maintenance, the high cost of spare parts, road conditions, insecurity, and lots more.

“It is not possible for us to operate optimally because all the components of trucks today are import-dependent. We import tyres, batteries, spare parts, and even vehicles are imported at a high cost of the dollar exchange rate. Unfortunately for us, transportation is not even in the classification of dollar allocation.

“We are not entitled to apply for dollar allocation from the Central Bank of Nigeria to import the spare parts and accessories of the vehicle,” he added.

Continuing, Bataiya noted that “Recently, the Petroleum Industry Act was passed which signifies the end of the deregulated environment where the activities of the centre are left to the power of demand and supply. This implies that payment of transporters’ fret is left to be negotiated between the marketers and transporters.

“Remember that on May 29, 2023, the President in his inaugural speech announced the removal of fuel subsidy with immediate effect. Since then, the cost of transportation has remained the same.

“We have made all effort as obtained in the Act to negotiate with the marketers with a view to arrive at a rate to assist us continue with the work we are doing to supply petroleum products across the country. All efforts to sit with the marketers proved abortive.”

Addressing journalists after a closed-door meeting with the the representatives of NARTO) and PETROAN, the Chairman of the Committee, Ikenga Ugochinyere, said that the meeting resolved to monitor closely the ongoing repair of the country’s refineries.

He said the committee also agreed with NARTO and PETROAN to investigate the activities of retail owners who pay for petroleum products and middlemen who sell the products to the real petrol outlet owners, which is the reason the price keeps rising.

“We also agreed to a stakeholders’ recommendation from NARTO, PETROAN and others to help in tackling some of the immediate and long-term needs in the industry to help ensure stability.

He also explained that the committee also agreed to take legislative action to look into how to reduce the freight cost by ensuring the dredging of the seaport that can open vessel landing corridors in other sectors apart from Lagos, Warri, Port-Harcourt, Calabar, and others.

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The suspension follows a meeting of the association with the federal government and stakeholders on Monday after tanker drivers stopped lifting petroleum products.

Yusuf Lawal, national president of NARTO, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

NARTO had requested that oil marketers review freight rates after the deregulation of the downstream sector.

In a letter dated February 15, 2024, addressed to the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), the association said oil marketers turned down its request, stating that it can no longer continue with operations due to the state of the economy.

NARTO stopped operations on February 19 — the same day a meeting with the federal government ended in a deadlock.

However, after a meeting with the federal government in Abuja on Tuesday, Lawal said the association has agreed to suspend the strike.

Speaking after the meeting, he said the association has reached a meeting point with the marketers.

Lawal said they have agreed to commence operations with immediate effect.

According to him, the strike was suspended due to the economic hardship. “We’ll commence operations immediately,” he said.

Lawal said the marketers had proposed additional freight rates, saying there is room for improvement.

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The development follows the association’s request for oil marketers to review freight rates.

NARTO had said that despite the deregulation of the downstream sector, oil marketers have refused its request to review the rates.

Deregulation removes the government’s control over the prices of petroleum products and allows private entities to make decisions in the sector.

In a letter dated February 15, 2024, addressed to the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), NARTO said it can no longer continue with operations due to the state of the economy.

The association said several efforts made to get the freight rates for their operations reviewed have had no positive results.

“We are deeply constrained to seek the support and understanding of your union and members towards the excruciating challenges petroleum truck owners are facing with the high operational costs in the industry,”  the statement reads.

“As you are already aware of several efforts we have made to secure negotiations for appropriate and commensurate freight rates for our operations from all conceivable authorities concerned in the industry, most especially the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria but which have received no positive responses from them.

“We have no other options but write to inform you that the NARTO National Executive Council (NEC) has resolved to direct all our members not to make their Petroleum Trucks available for Petroleum Products loading activities with effect from Monday, 19th day of February 2024.

“In the light of this directive, we implore all our employees (Petroleum Truck Drivers), who are your members to show maximum cooperation, support and understanding to our collective efforts for continued sustainability of the Petroleum Haulage business and effective service delivery by ensuring adequate and immediate compliance.”

NARTO added that “there is definitely no way we can continue in this business within the context of the current economic situation in the country”.

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Its national president, Yusuf Lawal Othman, made this known in a press statement he issued from Abuja.

The association is basically responsible for the haulage of the product throughout the country.

Othman, however, noted that the statement is an official announcement from the association’s headquarters that the members are parking their trucks on Monday.

He stressed: “Why? Because what we spend on operations is more than what we get in total, both in local and bridging.”

According to him, the members are operating at a loss, and it is no longer sustainable for them to endure the losses.

NARTO National President said, “We will have to suspend operations from now until 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.”

The President disclosed that NARTO’s efforts at soliciting the intervention of all the key stakeholders in the federal government and industry  have not yielded positive results.

Othman revealed that the association has written letters to table the plight of unbearable cost of operation to the Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Minister of Petroleum Resources; Director General, Department of State Services (DSS); Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) Chief Executive Officer; Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Group Chief Executive Officer; and the Marketers.

His words: “We have written letters up to the level of the Chief of Staff. We have written to the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil) I will send you a copy.

“We have written to DG SSS. We have written to the GCEO. We have written to the Authority Chief Executive. We have written to the major marketers.”

He stressed that despite the notification to the above stakeholders, “no response.”

Analysing the market situation, which the members have endured for several months, he recalled that the same freight rate that was in force while President Muhammadu Buhari was in government is still subsisting.

According to him, the N32 Lagos to Abuja freight rate that was implemented while the dollar was N650 is still retained now that the dollar is N1,615.

He said: “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.”

He added: “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 of the cost of vehicles, the cost of loading, and the driver’s allowance. That is for locals. 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 than 5% of the amount of N1,280,000 withholding tax is N64,000. Less 55,000 loading expenses and 15,000 driver allowance. Total expenses are N134,000 while the 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 is paid.

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

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The pledge was made Wednesday in Abuja by NARTO National President, Kassim Ibrahim Bataiya and the PTD National Chairman, Comrade Salimon Oladiti, during a meeting of stakeholders on the challenges of products supply and distribution led by the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources Downstream, Honourable Joseph Akinlaja.

The duo said their focus was to put an end to the current hardship being experienced by Nigerians at fuel stations across the country in the best interest of the nation.

“We are transporters and we know how many litres we have been moving across the country. If anybody is found guilty of moving products out of this country or to any unauthorized locations within, even if they are our members, we would not only disown them, but also exposed them,” Bataiya declared.

While commending the efforts of the NNPC Group Managing Director (GMD) in making products available to Nigerians, the NARTO National President gave the assurance that its union members would make available trucks to deliver products to any designations at any given time.

He stated: “We are here to express our solidarity with the NNPC and to also pledge our continuous support to the GMD for working hard to restore normalcy to the supply of products across the country. We have alluded to the fact that the NNPC under Dr. Baru has been doing very well in discharging its fiduciary responsibilities.

The NARTO National President frowned at a situation whereby only the NNPC was importing petroleum products and called on Government to encourage marketers to complement the Corporation’s efforts.

On his part, PTD National Chairman, Comrade Salimon Oladiti, condemned the activities of some unpatriotic citizens who are involved in smuggling products out of the country thus subjecting Nigerians to the current hardship being experienced nationwide.

He called on all stakeholders to join hands in addressing the issues of tanker hijacking, vandalism and smuggling, amongst others.

Comrade Oladiti, gave the assurance that tanker drivers would work round the clock amidst the upcoming Christmas holiday to ensure that the problem of products scarcity was fully addressed.

“We will give this government total support, especially the GMD of NNPC who took the pain of reviving the NNPC’s depots across the country. In fact, our members are happy with him and have declared their total support for him on all his positive initiatives,” Oladiti averred.

On his part, Honourable Joseph Akinlaja, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee, Downstream, who led the unions to the NNPC Towers, expressed confidence with the outcome of the meeting, adding that with the commitment of critical stakeholders like NARTO and PTD, the end to the problem being experience in products distribution is very much on sight.

“In the supply and distribution of petroleum products, NARTO and PTD are very critical stakeholders and they have declared their commitment to work with the NNPC. They pledged to mobilise to the field and by this, within the next few days, this problem will fizzle out,” Akinlaja said.

On the allegation of products diversion, he stated that the House of Representatives would investigate the issue and come up with workable solutions

In his remarks, the NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, commended the support of critical stakeholders like the House of Repsentatives, NARTO and PTD in addressing the challenges of products supply nationwide.

He stated that the NNPC would partner with relevant stakeholders to address the issues raised at the meeting, including collaboration with security agencies as well as state governments to secure befitting parking spaces for tankers at designated places.

Dr. Baru noted that because of NNPC’s avowed commitment to transparency, the Corporation has commenced the automation of loading pumps in all its depots nationwide.

He said that the Corporation was increasing the volume of products distribution to the market and would not relent until the problem is over, adding that NNPC would import at least 1billion litres of petrol by the end of December.

He condemned the action of some unscrupulous elements involved in products diversion, stating that sometimes in October this year, there was an incident of products diversion of 145 million litres of petrol in which the depot owner claimed to have loaded the product on a day that there was no loading schedule.

The Chairman of NNPC War Room on Products supply and Distribution, Dr. Babatunde Adeniran, who is the Corporation’s Chief Operating Officer, Ventures, stated that products diversion was a major challenge that must be fought by all and sundry, lamenting a situation where eight trucks were sent to Bauchi State and none of them delivered products at the location.

He said that the situation required the support of all stakeholders, adding that there was the need to checkmate some excesses within the country and at the nation’s borders.

NNPC Chief Operating Officer (COO) Downstream, Henry Ikem Obi, said his Directorate would always cooperate with NARTO and PTD to ensure free flow of products in the Country.

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Speaking during a visit to the GMD by the associations, the NARTO President, Alhaji Kassim Ibrahim Bataiya, and Chairman of PTD, Chief Otumba Oladiti, were unanimous in their views that fuel supply and distribution matrix had improved under Dr. Baru’s watch.

According to Alhaji Bataiya, never in the history of the NNPC did the country record such an achievement which has brought about uninterrupted supply of petroleum products nationwide due to the various strategic measures undertaken by the GMD.

“Petroleum products scarcity has now disappeared from our filling stations. In fact, the retail price of the product has also come down from N145 per litre to N143 per litre. You have also extended considerable assistance to transporters by allocating Automotive Gas Oil, (AGO), at subsidized prices to enable them keep their trucks on the road,” he said.

The NARTO President also thank Dr. Baru for the settlement of their freight bills of about N80 billion owed by the Petroleum Equalization Fund, PEF, Management Board.

PTD Chairman, Chief Otumba Oladiti, while re-echoing the zero fuel queue strides of the GMD, noted that the sanity brought to bear on the fuel supply and distribution by Dr. Baru should be extended to the refineries said to be scheduled for rehabilitation.

While urging the GMD and the NNPC Management to remain focused on their mandate to the country, Chief Oladiti assured Dr. Baru of the tanker drivers’ due support.

Responding, Dr. Baru thanked the members and leadership of the associations for their kind words, noting that his team would do all it could to remain focus.

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A national survey by Oil and Gas Forum, NNPC’s weekly TV programme, indicated that in the last few weeks, the price of diesel has fallen steadily from between N175 and N200 per litre as at June 18, 2017, to as low as between N155 and N160 per litre in some stations across the country as at last week.

The study showed that NNPC Mega Stations and its affiliates across the country sold the product for N160 per litre while many major and independent marketers in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Onitsha, Enugu, Makurdi and most major cities were selling between N160 and N165 per litre. In Port Harcourt the average price is as low as N150 per litre.

The Manager of a fuel retail station in Abuja, Ibrahim Isah, said the station had to reduce the selling price to N165 per litre in line with the prevailing market situation in order to sustain the turnover of the business.

An independent marketer in Makurdi, Innocent Abbah, said the going ex-depot price of diesel from tarmac or local private depots is N155 per litre.

However, the situation is slightly different in Asaba and Warri in Delta State and Uyo in Akwa Ibom state where most independent fuel stations as well as major marketers sold the product for N180 per litre.

It would be recalled that the price of AGO crashed by about 42% nationwide, a huge downslide over the last six months, following key strategic interventions by the NNPC.

In the first quarter 2017, retail prices of AGO, which is one of the deregulated products, shot up to an all-time high of N300/litre in major demand centres across the country.

The unpleasant situation placed a huge burden on truck drivers who use the product as fuel for their vehicles and the nation’s manufacturing sector which requires it to run its operations, as well as on the masses who need it for household power generation.

NNPC’s interventions included sustained improvement in the supply of the product and remodeling of the product distribution channels to address sufficiency issues across the country.

Another area of intervention that has enhanced supply and distribution of diesel is the corporation’s robust engagement with critical downstream stakeholders such as Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) as well as Independent Petroleum Marketers, leading to the resolution of salient issues.

The corporation has also taken huge steps to resuscitate some of its critical pipelines and depots such as the Atlas Cove – Mosimi Depot Pipeline, Port-Harcourt Refinery – Aba Depot Pipeline, Kaduna – Kano Pipeline and the Kano Depot which have enhanced efficiency in the distribution of AGO. Efforts are also ongoing to revamp and re-commission other critical pipelines and depots across the country.

Furthermore, as a result of consistent positive engagement with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the corporation has equally achieved the expansion of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) Foreign Exchange Intervention Scheme to accommodate diesel and aviation fuel.

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It would be recalled that in the first quarter 2017, retail prices of AGO, which is one of the deregulated products, shot to an all-time high of N300/litre in major demand centres across the country.

Such unpleasant situation placed a huge burden on truck drivers, who need the product for transporting their vehicles; the nation’s manufacturing sector, which requires it to run its operations as well as on the masses, who need it for household power generation.

However, following strategic intervention efforts by the NNPC towards sustained improvement in the supply of the diesel, the product’s retail prices as at the end of May 2017 ranged from N175 to N200 across the country (a significant price drop of about 42%), while ex-depot prices also dropped to between N135 and N155.

Shedding more light on this remarkable achievement, NNPC Spokesperson, Ndu Ughamadu, said some of the Corporation’s strategic interventions in this regard include improving the supply of AGO and remodeling of the product distribution to address sufficiency issues across the country.

“Since January this year, we have worked very hard with relevant stakeholders to improve distribution from refinery depots, by implementing a robust loading programme,” Ughamadu affirmed.

Also, in its quest to enhance efficient distribution of AGO, the Corporation was able to resuscitate its critical pipelines and depots in places such as Atlas Cove-Mosimi, Port-Harcourt Refinery-Aba and Kaduna Refinery-Kano. Efforts are also ongoing to revamp and commission other critical pipelines across the country.

Another key intervention that has enhanced supply and distribution of diesel, the NNPC Spokesperson noted, was the Corporation’s robust engagement with critical downstream stakeholders where salient issues were raised and duly addressed. These stakeholders include: Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) as well as Independent Petroleum Marketers.

Furthermore, as a result of consistent positive engagement with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NNPC equally extended the expansion of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) Foreign Exchange Intervention Scheme to accommodate Diesel and Aviation Fuel.

The general public is hereby assured that the Corporation would continue to ensure seamless supply and distribution of diesel and other petroleum products across the country to make the lives of Nigerians better.

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Providing the clarification in Abuja on Wednesday, the Chief Operating Officer, COO, in charge of Downstream operations of the Corporation, Henry Ikem Obih, said there was no plan by government or any of its agencies to review the pump price of petrol above N145 per litre.

He explained that the rise in the bridging cost was achieved after an adjustment was made in the

“lightering expenses” from N4 to N3 per litre and the difference transferred to compensate for the cost of bridging within the same template.

The bridging allowance refers to the cost element built into the products pricing template to ensure a uniform price of petrol across the country, while lightering expenses involve charges for moving products to depot area from mother vessels by light vessels due to the inability of the former to berth in shallow water depth.

“What happened, in simple language, is a rebalancing of the margins allowed and approved for stakeholders. So what the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, did was to take N1 from lightering expenses and add same to the bridging allowance. That is how we arrived at N7.20. Therefore, PMS remains at the ceiling of N145 per litre,’’ he said.

On the availability of product supply, the COO said as at today, the country had 1.3billion litres of petrol which translated to an inventory of 36 days.

“What this means is that even if we stop importation or refining of petrol right now, we have enough products in-country to provide for the needs of every Nigerian for a period of 36 days,” he said.

Obih noted that the supply availability was bolstered with the production of petrol from the three refineries located in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna.

“There is absolutely no risk of shortage in supply as we also continue to import to support the production from the refineries, we have informed the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, to enforce the prevailing N145 per litre price regime and also ensure that every service station that has fuel is selling to the public,” he said.

The COO reiterated the readiness of the NNPC Management under the leadership of Dr Maikanti Baru to sustain the existing cordial relations between the NNPC and the leadership of the downstream industry unions and other stakeholders.

He said the DPR which is the regulatory arm of the industry had been alerted to sanction fuel station owners who engage in hoarding or charge consumers in excess of the approved pump price of petrol.

NNPC GMD, Dr Maikanti Baru had announced the review of the bridging allowance on Monday at a mediation meeting between the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, leading to suspension of a strike action embarked upon by members of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers.

In attendance at the resolution meeting were the NUPENG National President, Comrade Igwe Achese, who announced the suspension of the strike; the National President of PTD, Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, his NARTO counterpart, Alh. Kassim Ibrahim Bataiya; and Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Downstream, Honourable Joseph Akinlaja.

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Mediating over the faceoff between the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, on Monday at the NNPC Towers, the GMD announced the approval of bridging allowance from N6.20 to N7.20.

“We understand the difficulty of NARTO to go into negotiations with PTD which has to do with the level of bridging allowance. I am happy to announce that the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has given his approval to increase the bridging allowance from N6.20 to N7.20,” Dr. Baru revealed.

Dr Baru said the review should give NARTO the breathing space to engage with PTD to immediately discuss and resolve as many of the issues as possible, adding that the gesture, was expected to normalize relations between the unions.

The GMD explained that NNPC intervened in the faceoff between the unions in order to ensure the energy security of the nation, adding that ordinarily the dispute was only between PTD and its employer, NARTO.

Announcing the suspension of the strike, the NUPENG National President, Comrade Igwe Achese said with the intervention of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and the GMD, NNPC who has done so much to ensure efficient supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country, hence, the strike was hereby suspended.

The National President of PTD, Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, applauded the GMD and his management for their timely intervention and urged them to address the unruly behavior of security agencies towards the members.

On his part, the National President of NARTO, Alh. Kassim Ibrahim Bataiya assured the GMD that with his intervention, the condition of service document would be reviewed to improve the drivers’ welfare.

Honourable Joseph Akinlaja, Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Downstream, who represented Speaker Yakubu Dogara, commended the GMD on his intervention, adding that this has save the country a lot.

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