The Petroleum Tanker Drivers arm of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) have shelved their planned strike.
The groups had threatened to go on strike over claims of diversion of the N621bn road fund provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and the government’s failure to increase the freight rate for transporting petrol.
But a communique issued by the (NNPC) on Thursday, noted that the planned industrial action has been stopped following a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja.
The NNPC gave updates about the state of the road “construction and rehabilitation projects under the road infrastructure tax credit scheme and assured the stakeholders (NUPENG, NARTO, and PTD) that the funding earmarked for the 21 critical roads will be applied for the intended purpose only”.
The NNPC in a series of tweets on its official handle also said the stakeholders will work together in monitoring the road construction.
“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 communique added.
It said a committee has been set up to review the rates and that members of the group include PTD, NARTO and NUPENG, and other stakeholders. The committee is expected to make recommendations to the government
On the nationwide fuel scarcity, all parties during the meeting agreed to work to ensure “efficient distribution of petroleum products across the country”.