From Uche Usim, Abuja
Nigerians may be plunged into another round of fuel scarcity if the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) makes good its threat of withdrawing haulage service should the Federal Government fail to address the rising cost of operation which its members are battling with.
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 association’s National President, Alhaji Yusuf Lawal Othman, in a statement, stated that his members now find it difficult to remain afloat because of the high freight rate, which is regulated and paid in arrears. He insisted that members will be advised to ground their haulage tankers if nothing is done to address the matter.
He described the business environment as scorching and unbearable.
He stated: “Therefore, transporters whose freight rate is fixed and regulated cannot sustain the business if nothing is done.
“We can’t operate. We can’t work if nothing is done to increase the freight rate. The condition is unbearable because of the high cost of diesel.”
He, therefore, urged the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to urgently increase the freight rate to reflect the present cost of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) diesel and spare parts. He disclosed that the ex-depot cost of diesel soared to N401 per litre on Monday.
Othman lamented that it might hit N420 per litre at the filling stations.
The President called on the NMDPRA CEO, Farouk Ahmed, to urgently convene a stakeholders meeting to increase the freight rate and address other pressing issues of cost of operation.