High rate of insecurity, bad road, threat to our operations – NARTO President laments

The National President of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, Yusuf Lawal Othman has lamented the high rate of insecurity and bad road infrastructure as major threat to operations of the association as they strove to provide services to the nation.

He called for review of road policies to curtail insecurity, saying the current policies governing road infrastructure and its uses have become obsolete in the face of the high rate of insecurity on Nigerian roads which has led to loss of lives and vehicles across the nation.

In his opening address at a two-day 24th Annual General Meeting of the Association in Abuja on Wednesday, NARTO boss bemoans insecurity that caused heavy casualties on members of the Association, stressing that transportation business in Nigeria has become one of the most difficult in the last four years.

He recalled how Covid-19 pandemic crippled transportation businesses as some transporters have abandoned the business for something else, a situation he said affected the value chain.

According to him, the situation worsened such that the Federal Government’s tax credit mitigation measure could not help matters, as insecurity, bad roads and other associated malaise were confronting the industry without end in sight.

He said: “Unfortunately however, the transport industry was not immune to global challenges including the negative impact of Covid-19 pandemic which led to loss of revenue and many businesses in the last four years. 

“During this time, many vehicle owners completely went down and had to park their trucks and vehicles due to harsh operational conditions.

“The bad  and inadequate road infrastructure remain an impediment to significant to seamless  movement of people, goods and services despite special funds allocated by the Federal Government  such as N631 million tax credit and that of N1.6 proposed.
“More so, the situation may worsen during the rainy season and fortunately, I asked the Federal Government, specifically the Federal Ministry of Works to ensure speedy completion of road projects and patches.

“Activities of bandits and kidnappers have made life miserable for drivers.  We had many cases where drivers were kidnapped while on duty and some had their trucks hijacked at gun point along some critical routes in the country. 

“Many drivers and their assistants have lost their lives in such incidents.  Sadly, we witnessed resurgence ugly incidents and an increasing wave of kidnappings in the country particularly within the Federal Capital Territory.

“While commending the effort of security agencies in tackling these problems, we pray the Federal Government will review the security policies and plans holistically to curtail the situation.”

On challenges faced by the association when fuel subsidy removal was announced by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023, he said: “While the deregulation of petroleum downstream sector is commendable, it has posed substantial challenge dictated by demand and supply dynamics with regards to marketers and transporters. 

Members of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners and guests at the 24th Annual General Meeting and Conference in Abuja on Wednesday.

“However, achieving this has proven difficult despite our operational costs particularly in forex and diesel skyrocketing to an unsustainable level, marketers consistently refused our request for a price review citing government’s restriction in adjusting PMS pump price even when international market price further increases.”

Despite the challenges being faced by the association, the NARTO President revealed how a befitting office was acquired after two decades of the existence of NARTO, which he posited was made possible through collaborative effort of major stakeholders and members, adding that welfare of staff was also catered for.

Speaking earlier, the Executive Vice President, Petroleum Downstream Sector, Dapo Segun who represented the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Engr. Mele Kyari commended the association for their cooperation during the nation’s tough times.

He said, as stakeholders, the association worked with the NNPCL to wade off fuel queues during the yuletide season despite the harsh conditions they found themselves in.

“We in NNPC see NARTO as a very important stakeholder and when you call once, we respond thrice.  We feel your pains.  We feel that so much investment has been put into the economy and the situation sometimes makes you worry about the viability of that investment.  
“I would like to encourage you to continue doing what you are doing.  In every    business or economic circle, there are always good times and tough times.  It is a common saying that tough times never last, but tough people and tough associations like NARTO last.
“The time will come, when this tough time will roll away and we all as Nigerian brothers and sisters will enjoy the benefit of perseverance that we are going through today and that day will come soon.”