Posted on: 05:52 Tue, 26 Jul 2016



An imminent fuel crisis looms as truck owners have threatened to suspend transportation of fuel today after the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum it earlier issued to the Federal government.

Nigerians are in great danger of another fuel crisis as truck owners have threatened to suspend transportation of petroleum products across the country starting from today.

Addressing newsmen, at the joint press briefing organised 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, Alhaji Kassim Ibrahim Bataiya, the National President of NARTO, who was assisted by PTD’s Comrade salimon Olatidi at the media briefing, revealed that they would withdraw their services at the expiration of the seven-day.

It would be recalled that the truck owners 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.

Comrade salimon Olatidi directed the management board of the PEF to immediately commence the full payment of transporters’ claims as well as the accumulated outstanding claims from the period of January 1, 2011 to May 11, 2016 at the rate applicable from 2011 to December 31, 2015 to avoid any trouble.

He warned that failure to do so would mean suspension of transportation of petroleum products from one destination to the other through out the country.

The transporters 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.