Ike Amos
15 October 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC) has cleared the N80 billion debt owed petroleum tanker drivers by the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) Management Board for freight charges.
A statement by the NNPC, explained that the payment of the debt was disclosed during a visit by leaders of the Petroleum Tankers Drivers (PTD) Branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) to the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Maikanti Baru, in Abuja.
According to the statement, NARTO President, Mr. Kassim Ibrahim Bataiya, and Chairman of PTD, Mr. Otumba Oladiti, commended Baru for ensuring seamless supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.
They were unanimous in their views that the fuel supply and distribution matrix had improved under his watch.
Bataiya praised the efforts of the Corporation, stating that never in the history of the NNPC did the country record such an achievement which had brought about an uninterrupted supply of petroleum products nationwide due to the various strategic measures were undertaken by Baru.
He said, “Petroleum products scarcity has now disappeared from our filling stations. In fact, the retail price of the product has also come down from N145 per litre to N143 per litre. You have also extended considerable assistance to transporters by allocating Automotive Gas Oil, (AGO), at subsidized prices to enable them to keep their trucks on the road.”
Speaking in the same vein, PTD Chairman, Otumba Oladiti, while re-echoing the zero fuel queue strides of the GMD, noted that the sanity brought to bear on the fuel supply and distribution by Baru should be extended to the refineries said to be scheduled for rehabilitation.
While urging the GMD and the NNPC Management to remain focused on their mandate to the country, Oladiti assured Baru of the tanker drivers’ due support.
In his response, Baru thanked the members and the leadership of the associations for their kind words, noting that his team would do all it could to remain focused.
