Tanker drivers suspend nationwide strike

Tanker drivers represented in the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) suspended their nationwide strike on Tuesday.

They decided to call off the strike after NARTO National President Othman Yusuf had a meeting with Heineken State Minister of Petroleum Resources Lokpobiri.

The meeting, which took place in Abuja, was also attended by oil traders and officials from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Following the meeting with the Nigerian government and stakeholders on Monday, tanker drivers suspended operations and stopped transporting petroleum products due to the difficult economic situation.

They had also complained about the astronomical increase in the price of diesel fuel, which they use to fuel their trucks that transport petroleum products across the country.

Due to the foreign exchange crisis in Nigeria, the price of diesel has recently increased. One litre of the product now sells for over 1,250 Naira.

The tanker drivers therefore complied with the directive of NARTO National President Yusuf and withdrew their trucks effective Monday, February 19, 2024.

Yusuf issued the directive in a letter dated Thursday, February 15, to the Secretary General of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG).

However, after the start of the nationwide strike, which lasted 24 hours, the tanker drivers decided to turn around on Yusuf’s orders.

“We have agreed to suspend and withdraw the action and we will begin operations immediately,” Yusuf said on Tuesday.