The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) have announced the suspension of their planned strike action after a meeting with the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
The groups had threatened to embark on a nationwide strike over the dilapidated state of Nigerian roads, which they said destroys their vehicles and expose the drivers to avoidable accidents and highway criminals.
They had also alleged that funds meant for the repair of the roads were being diverted to other projects, while the union continued to lose and bury members lost to road accidents.
In the meeting in Abuja on Thursday, the groups resolved to suspend the strike action after the management of the NNPC offered to undertake the construction and rehabilitation of some of the major roads using the road infrastructure tax credit scheme.
The NNPC also assured the oil workers of its commitment to ensuring that the funding reserved for the 21 critical roads would be judiciously applied for the purpose while noting the willingness to work with all other parties in monitoring the execution of the road projects.
To ensure a seamless supply of petroleum products nationwide, the NUPENG, NARTO and PTD agreed to cooperate with the NNPC and other interest groups, including the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
On the review of freight rate for transporters, the stakeholders requested for the completion of the ongoing discussions on the issue to cover operational costs.
The NMDPRA, however, informed the meeting that a committee has already been constituted to review the freight rates, which include those for PTD, NARTO and NUPENG, in addition to other stakeholders, as all parties agreed to work towards concluding the review and make recommendations to the government.
