The Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) issued a nationwide strike threat on Thursday, citing the escalating operational expenses fueled by the country’s rising inflation rates.
NARTO serves as the overarching organization representing all commercial transport proprietors and operators in Nigeria, facilitating the transportation of goods, passengers, and petroleum products across the nation and the broader West African sub-region.
In an interview with Channels Television on Friday, Yusuf Othman, the Association’s President, expressed the inability of its members to sustain the delivery of petroleum products due to operational costs surpassing earnings.
Othman revealed that the compensation currently offered to NARTO members for loading and transporting a truck containing 40,000 liters of petroleum product stands at N1,320 per trip, while actual expenses amount to N1,285,000 per trip.
“We are proceeding with the strike on Monday because the operational costs have exceeded what marketers are paying us,” he asserted.
While acknowledging ongoing dialogues between oil marketers and the Association, Othman lamented the sluggish progress in reaching a concrete resolution.