By John Ikani
In a bid to avert a complete boycott in the transportation of petrol by truck owners, the Federal Government at the weekend began the implementation of 25 percent increase freight rate for the transportation of petrol across the country.
Heritage Times gathered that the increase became necessary after some members of the truck owners under the auspices of Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) were diverting their trucks into haulage of other goods following astronomical rise in the pump price of diesel.
The move led to acute shortage of petrol across the country including Nigeria’s capital city and suburbs, where most stations – with no exception of those operated by major oil marketers – ran out of stock.
Following the implementation of the new rate, the national president of the NARTO, Alhaji Yusuf Lawal Othman, called on its members who have suspended loading to resume full operation following the approval of the increased freight rate to 25 per cent of product cost per truck.
He said, “I am calling on our members (transporters) to get back to full operation now that 25 per cent has been implemented. I can confirm that the 25 per cent rate has been approved and implemented.”
Othman urged them to resume full operation to alleviate the petrol scarcity, saying efforts are ongoing to get federal government’s palliatives on Automative Gas Oil (AGO), also called diesel.
“I am calling on members to get back to operation, with a view to reducing the sufferings of the general public. In addition, we are trying to look into how to get AGO palliatives from government,” he noted.
