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From Uche Usim, Abuja
The National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and industry operators are groaning over the destabilising effects of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine on their operations with European partners.
They particularly lamented the rapidly-rising price of Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) in the country, describing it as completely unaffordable.
Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) held at Zuma Resort, Niger State, the National President of the association, Yusuf Lawan Othman, told the gathering that the soaring price of diesel was killing their businesses.
With the price of crude oil at $121.3/barrel, Nigeria currently flaunts four dead refineries and relies completely on imported Premium Motor Spirit, (PMS) Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) and Aviation fuel to run its economy.
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While Othman commended the Federal Government for increasing the freight rate granted to transporters, but expressed regrets that the price of diesel has compounded the cost of operations for his members.
He said:” As of today, the price of diesel is impacting negatively on our business , not only our business but almost all activities in Nigeria because as of today, fuel is imported into the country.
“And naturally it’s usually at the international price and everybody knows that the international price is affected by the current war in Ukraine and Russia.
“So of course, because we import it, it’s really very costly. “We appreciate the effort of the government for this increase, but at the same time, we appreciate the fact that the increase would not have been noticed because of the higher cost of diesel.
“But we know the cost of diesel has gone up and we know the war will not last forever. Very soon, of course, we will expect things to normalise. The price will normalise, meaning that the increase will be meaningful. But in any case, if this continues to go up, we will have no option than to go back to the government.” In his remarks, the Executive Secretary MOMAN, Clement Isong, who made a virtual presentation, said the ongoing war in Eastern Europe has complicated the volatility in the oil industry in Nigeria as he recalled that marketers are yet to come out of the unpleasant development of contaminated fuel coupled with high foreign exchange rate.
