Fuel scarcity looms as truck owners withdraw services

ABUJA—Barring any last minute change in plans, truck owners would suspend transportation of petroleum products across the country, beginning from today. The truck owners had last week, issued a seven-day ultimatum within which to withdraw their services over alleged unpaid bridging claims and reduction of freight rate paid to its members by the Petroleum Equalisation Fund, PEF. At a joint press briefing addressed by the leaderships of the National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, and the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, the groups threatened to withdraw their services at the expiration of the seven-day. National President of NARTO, Alhaji Kassim Ibrahim Bataiya, who was assisted by PTD’s Comrade salimon Olatidi at the media briefing, demanded that the management board of the PEF must immediately commence the full payment of transporters’ claims. The truck owners warned that they will suspend their services of movement of petroleum products from one destination to the other through out the country, should the management of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund, PEF, continue to default in payments of transporters’ claims. Alhaji Bataiya asked the management board of PEF to immediately commence the full payment of transporters’ claims as well as the accumulated outstanding claims in respect of the period January 1, 2011 to May 11, 2016 at the rate applicable from 2011 to December 31, 2015. He further asked the PEF management board to immediately conclude the review of the freight rate from May 12, 2016 to date, in accordance with the bridging fund approved by the government.