The West African Road Transport Owners has said pipeline vandalism is to blame for the increasing number of fuel trucks on the nation’s roads.
According to the President of the association, Aloga Ogbogo, pipeline vandalism is the reason why trucks are being used to distribute about 80 per cent of fuel in the nation.
In an interview with our correspondent, Ogbogo, who is also the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, said, “Well, for the wet cargo, they have a different modus operandi with the dry cargo.
“The wet cargos are the tankers because every tanker you see on this road belongs to a NARTO member. And 80 per cent to 90 per cent of fuel distribution in this country is done through trucking as a result of pipeline vandalism.
“So, most of these oil companies enter into contract haulage with the trucker so for tankers it will be easier because as they do the trucking, they domicile the account. Once oil companies pay, you can remove the money and send it to the bank.”
He added that, unlike tankers, truckers were finding it hard to access loans from financial institutions to buy new trucks. According to him, these institutions cite poor road networks and the inability for trucks to load from a particular point as limiting factors.
According to Ogbogo, the electronic inspection of vehicles introduced by the Lagos State government may lead to the scarcity of fuel products in the nation if not properly handled.
He said, “The Lagos State government’s introduction of electronic vehicle inspection is a step in the right direction but let me tell you something, you are aware that 80 per cent of the cargoes in Nigeria passes through Lagos in terms of both wet, dry, and bulk cargoes.
“Now with the electronic inspection, if you subject tanker trucks to the test without carrying critical stakeholders along, about 80 per cent of tanker trucks will fail. Once this happens, they will be banned from Lagos, and scarcity will set in.”
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