Looming fuel scarcity: Truck drivers threaten strike over diesel costs

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The potential for another fuel crisis looms over Nigeria as the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) announced plans to halt transportation of petroleum products nationwide starting next Monday. This strike decision, fueled by concerns over rising diesel costs, could significantly impact fuel availability and further strain the nation’s already beleaguered economy.

NARTO, representing truck drivers transporting fuel across the country, has repeatedly voiced concerns about the increasing cost of diesel, a crucial element in operating their vehicles. President Yusuf Othman, in a statement issued on Thursday, emphasized the dire situation, declaring the nationwide parking of trucks as an official decision from the association’s headquarters.

“Why? It is because what we spend on operations is more than what we get in total, both in local and bridging,” he stated.

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Othman said NARTO members 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.

This potential strike carries significant implications. Disruptions in fuel transportation could lead to shortages at gas stations, triggering panic buying, price hikes, and economic turmoil. The impact would undoubtedly be felt by individuals and businesses alike, potentially exacerbating existing challenges related to transportation costs and inflation.