THE Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) leadership has asked the Federal Government not to keep the association in the dark as it implements the newly signed Petroleum Industry Act (PIA)
Speaking through its President Yusuf Othman, the association raised fears over the fate of its liabilities with the scrapped Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), urging the Federal Government to come out open on the association’s relationship with the extinct agencies.
Speaking to The Nation newspaper, Othman said that the Federal Government had not informed the association what would become of its liabilities.
He insisted that NARTO should know its fate to inform the members on what next to do.
He urged the government to be proactive and invite the association for a meeting instead of waiting until the association issued a threat.
The NARTO boss expressed support for the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the newly appointed CEO of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Agency CEO Farouk Ahmed and that of the Upstream Regulatory Commission Gbenga Komolafe.
“First of all, we congratulate the government on the passage of the PIA. We also congratulate the new agencies. However, we want to know our fate as regards our liabilities with the PPPRA and PEF as regards also going forward.
“We want to know our fate. We are not averse to the government. We are not against it but we are in the dark.”
“Now that the government said it has scrapped the DPR, PPPRA and PEF, we need to be briefed officially on the status of our operations now.
“What is the status of our outstanding money with PEF and what is the fate of our current operation?”
According to him, NARTO was a critical stakeholder in hauling of petroleum products across the country.
He noted that the organisation operated on credit and currently owed members of the association.
“Now that they have scrapped PEF, what is the fate of our cooperation and our outstanding money that we have to be informed going forward so that we can tell our members and plan ahead.
“You don’t just scrap it (PEF) and keep quiet. Let’s be informed about our fate and the liabilities of the PEF because we are part of the liability.
“We want to know what it is because we are critical stakeholders as far as DPR, PEF and PPPRA are concerned. It is not just scrapping them, when you scrap them what happens to the operation that these organs do? Are they going to be absorbed by the new entities? We need to know. The government needs to be proactive.
“It is not that it is until we want to threaten the government. They need to be proactive. The new entities that have come in should invite us.”
He urged the government to be proactive and invite the association for a meeting on the plan instead of waiting until they issued a threat.
A reporter with the ICIR
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