Fuel Tankers


By Ejiofor Alike

The country may witness acute fuel scarcity as depots across the country remained closed during the weekend, following strike action embarked upon by two associations of marketers and tanker drivers.

THISDAY’s investigation revealed that no fuel depot was opened for business yesterday as Petroleum Tankers Drivers’ section (PTD) of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) workers joined in the strike action, earlier declared by two groups of marketers.

This was despite the fact that the marketers had gone to Abuja yesterday to collect their unpaid subsidies, following the decision of the Federal Ministry of Finance to commence payment of all verified claims.

The effect of the strike actions by the marketers was not immediately felt by motorists and other petrol users as NIPCO plc and the six major oil marketers, which have thousands of petrol stations across the country were still loading and distributing products.
The major marketers include, Forte Oil Plc, Oando Plc, Total Nigeria Plc, Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc, MRS Oil and Gas Plc and Conoil Plc.

But the decision of the PTD section of NUPENG, an umbrella body of junior oil workers to join the strike yesterday affected the operations of NIPCO and the six major marketers as their drivers did not load products.

THISDAY gathered that the development led to the closure of all the depots, while only products at the filling stations were sustaining the country.

Western Zonal chairman of NUPENG, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo told THISDAY yesterday that the drivers joined the strike because of the bad state of the roads across the country and the inability of the oil marketing companies to pay their members’ salaries due to the unpaid subsidy claims.

He however stated that the drivers would review their position as soon as the marketers are paid their outstanding subsidy claims.