
Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
The Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has announced that it plans to acquire 1,000 trucks that are Gas-Powered for the purpose of transporting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
It also revealed that preliminary discussions have commenced with its partners on how to finance the acquisition.
This was disclosed on Monday by the Association’s President, Alhaji Yusuf Othman, in a conversation with journalist, where he also said that NARTO is making progress in the negotiation.
In his own words, “we are discussing and working on the acquisition of about 1,000 CNG and LPG trucks. We are working on it and we have made serious progress.”
Othman noted that they were yet to conclude on the amount the project will cost, as well as the time line for the acquisition. He commended the removal of petrol subsidy, stating that it has culminated in the removal of the delay of bridging payments because transportation is now factored into the new rate.
According to him, “our members have been coping fine because in any case the transportation is now factored into the cost of the petroleum product. So, this is a better time. The cost of fuel includes the transportation cost. It is opposed to the last time when one had to wait for some time before you will be paid.”
He further called on the Federal Government to pay up the outstanding debts from freight rate, stating that the government was yet to come up with modalities for paying the debt.