The Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), have suspended their planned industrial action.
BizWatch Nigeria had reported that the PTD of NUPENG said the strike was pertinent, as the federal government failed to fix 21 selected highways based on an agreement reached by stakeholders.
According to PTD National Chairman Salmon Oladiti, under the endorsement of NUPENG, the drivers had discovered that senior government officials were currently diverting the N621 billion provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) for the rehabilitation of the identified federal highways.
Following NNPC’s intervention in the matter, PTD alongside NARTO, after a critical stakeholders’ engagement that involved the downstream oil sector regulator, decided to put the strike on hold.
The communique issued at the end of the meeting stated that NNPC provided updates on the current status of the road construction and rehabilitation projects under the road infrastructure tax credit scheme.
It assured the stakeholders that the funding earmarked for the 21 critical roads would be applied for the intended purpose only.
“To allay the fears of the stakeholders, NNPC and all parties commit to working together in the monitoring of the road projects,” the communique read in part.
On the review of freight rate for transporters, it stated that the stakeholders requested for completion of the ongoing discussion on the review of the freight rates to cover operational costs and highlighted the precarious situation that truck owners face in the light of current economic realities.
The downstream regulator informed the meeting that a committee had been constituted to review the rates which include PTD, NARTO, and NUPENG in addition to other stakeholders.
“All parties agreed to work expeditiously towards concluding the review of the freight rate and make recommendations to the government,” it stated.
