A planned strike action by the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) has been suspended.
This followed intervention from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The suspension of the planned strike was announced in a communique jointly signed by NNPC GMD, Mele Kyari; national chairman of PTD, Salmon Oladiti; NARTO president, Yusuf Otthman; NUPENG president, Williams Akporeha; and executive director, finance and admin, NMDPRA, Abiodun Adeniji.
NUPENG and PTD had declared to embark on strike based on its investigations which allegedly revealed that officials of the federal ministry of works and housing were currently diverting the fund provided by NNPC for the rehabilitation of 21 critical highways.
On road rehabilitation, the communique said NNPC provided updates on the current status of the road construction and rehabilitation projects under the road infrastructure tax credit scheme.
It said the NNPC assured the stakeholders that the funding earmarked for the 21 critical roads would be applied for the intended purpose only.
”To allay the fears of the stakeholders, NNPC and all parties commit to working together in the monitoring of the road projects,” it stated.
It further said, “The parties also agreed to foster collaboration on ensuring nationwide availability of petroleum products.
“All parties agreed to work closely to ensure efficient distribution of petroleum products across the country.”
