THE Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has threatened to suspend operations from Monday because of the high cost of operations.
Its National President, Yusuf Lawal Othman, confirmed this in a press statement issued in Abuja. He highlighted that the statement is an official declaration from the association’s headquarters that members are parking their trucks from Monday.
He said: “Why? Because what we spend on operations exceeds what we receive in total: both locally and bridging”.
According to him, the members have been operating at a loss, and it is no longer sustainable for them to continue doing so.
NARTO’s National President said, “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 the park.
“But from the point of the association itself, we are going to suspend operations on Monday.”
The President revealed that NARTO’s efforts to enlist the help of all important stakeholders in the Federal Government and industry had not achieved significant outcomes.
Othman revealed that the association has written letters to President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) Chief Executive Officer, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Group Chief Executive Officer, and the Marketers, expressing concern about the exorbitant costs of operations.
“We have written letters up to the level of the Chief of Staff. We have written to the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil) I will send you a copy,” he added.
“We have written to DG SSS. We have written to the GCEO. We have written to the Authority Chief Executive. We have written to the Major Marketers.”
He stressed that despite the notification to the above stakeholders, “No response.”
Analysing the market situation, which the members have endured for several months, he recalled that the same freight rate that was in force while President Muhammadu Buhari was in government is still subsisting.
According to him, the N32 Lagos to Abuja freight rate that was implemented while the dollar was N650 is still retained now that the dollar is N1,615.
He said, “Everybody is aware that all our consumables in terms of operation are not produced in the country.
“So, by virtue of the rate of dollars, every consumables has increased. But the freight they are paying us has been the same even during Buhari’s time.
“So how is that feasible? During Buhari’s time, dollar was N650. Today, dollar is noe N1,615. The average freight from Lagos to Abuja is N32.”
Continuing, he explained: “What I mean by local, you load Lagos, you discharge in Lagos. And bridging, you load from Lagos, you come to Abuja. Lagos to Lagos, we are paid N120,000.
“AGO alone to distribute fuel within Lagos is N140,000 because it is N1,400 per litre. So, they give you N120,000 and you spend N140,000. So, how do you want to operate?
“Talk less of cost of vehicles, cost of loading, driver’s allowance. That is for local. For bridging, Lagos to Abuja, they gave us N32.
“If you have a truck of 40,000 litres, you are talking of N1,280,000-N1,216,000. Less 5% of the amount of N1,280,000 Withholding Tax N64,000. Less than 55,000 loading expenses and 15,000 driver allowance.
“Total expenses N134,000 while balance is N1,146,000. AGO is N1400 for 900 litres, totalling N1260,000. There is a total loss of N114,000. The diesel that you use from Lagos to Abuja is 900 litres. So when you use 900 litres at 1,400, that will be N1,260,000. So it is by far more than what is paid.
“Meanwhile the cost of a truck New truck head and tank is N95 million and used is N50 million. So imagine the Amount invested on each truck?”
