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LequteMan
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The Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) on Tuesday averted another fuel crisis in the nation by resolving pending issues with aggrieved Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO).
This is contained in a communique issued at the end of PEF Management Board meeting in Abuja with NARTO officials and executives of other relevant unions in the oil and gas sector.
Others unions in attendance included representatives of Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Petroleum Tankers Drivers (PTD).
The communique was signed by Executive Secretary PEF, Mrs Sharon Kasali, on behalf of the management.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that NARTO had on Jan. 15 issued a 10-day ultimatum to the government over some unresolved issues affecting its operations.
NARTO is the central platform for all trucks and petroleum tanker owners used in conveying products from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) depots to filling stations nationwide.
The association, in a letter by its President, Mr Kassim Bataiya to PEF, said it would be compelled to boycott all activities if the grievances of its members were not resolved within 10 days.
NARTO said it would suspend its operations of distributing petroleum products all over the country pending when the issues were resolved.
It listed some of the issues affecting their smooth operations to include slow response from application of Aquila Project and alleged undue delay in freight payments, leading to cash flow problems.
Project Aquila is an electronic business solution introduced by PEF to help monitor the loading, transportation and delivery of petroleum products at all depots.
The communique said issues agitated on by the association, particularly those related to payment of claims, had been addressed at the meeting.
It stated that payment for marketers claim for transportation of refined petroleum products were being carried out on a constant and continuous basis.
It said due diligence had been concluded on all manual claims and those found not to have met the minimum requirements for processing payment were yet to be returned to the concerned marketers.
It stated that all those that passed the minimum requirement tests had been processed and paid.
According to the communique, evidence was presented to confirm the dedication of the board staff to their duties even on weekends and public holidays.
It said PEF Board would ensure uninterrupted and improved service delivery always.
It, however, stated that any complaints shall be looked into and appropriate sanctions applied.
It stated that efforts had been made to communicate new policies and guidelines to marketers while the board further pledged to improve on its communication strategy with all stakeholders.
The board, it said, informed NARTO members that there were currently five tagging teams operating at different sites in Lagos (two), Ibadan, Enugu and Kaduna.
It said about 13,600 trucks had been tagged nationwide to date, with a 2-D encrypt code imprinted on the body of petroleum tankers.
It said that PEF(M)B and NARTO/PTD pledged to meet monthly at committee level with MOMAN, on a quarterly basis, to quickly resolve any issues.
The National Chairman, PTD, Chief Salimon Oladiti, and Executive Secretary, MOMAN, Mr Obafemi Olawore, confirmed to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) the unions' agreement in the communique.
The meeting was also attended by NNPC Retail Representative, Mr Tafida A.T and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency representative, Mr Ishaku Abner.
#Nigeria #NARTO
This is contained in a communique issued at the end of PEF Management Board meeting in Abuja with NARTO officials and executives of other relevant unions in the oil and gas sector.
Others unions in attendance included representatives of Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Petroleum Tankers Drivers (PTD).
The communique was signed by Executive Secretary PEF, Mrs Sharon Kasali, on behalf of the management.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that NARTO had on Jan. 15 issued a 10-day ultimatum to the government over some unresolved issues affecting its operations.
NARTO is the central platform for all trucks and petroleum tanker owners used in conveying products from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) depots to filling stations nationwide.
The association, in a letter by its President, Mr Kassim Bataiya to PEF, said it would be compelled to boycott all activities if the grievances of its members were not resolved within 10 days.
NARTO said it would suspend its operations of distributing petroleum products all over the country pending when the issues were resolved.
It listed some of the issues affecting their smooth operations to include slow response from application of Aquila Project and alleged undue delay in freight payments, leading to cash flow problems.
Project Aquila is an electronic business solution introduced by PEF to help monitor the loading, transportation and delivery of petroleum products at all depots.
The communique said issues agitated on by the association, particularly those related to payment of claims, had been addressed at the meeting.
It stated that payment for marketers claim for transportation of refined petroleum products were being carried out on a constant and continuous basis.
It said due diligence had been concluded on all manual claims and those found not to have met the minimum requirements for processing payment were yet to be returned to the concerned marketers.
It stated that all those that passed the minimum requirement tests had been processed and paid.
According to the communique, evidence was presented to confirm the dedication of the board staff to their duties even on weekends and public holidays.
It said PEF Board would ensure uninterrupted and improved service delivery always.
It, however, stated that any complaints shall be looked into and appropriate sanctions applied.
It stated that efforts had been made to communicate new policies and guidelines to marketers while the board further pledged to improve on its communication strategy with all stakeholders.
The board, it said, informed NARTO members that there were currently five tagging teams operating at different sites in Lagos (two), Ibadan, Enugu and Kaduna.
It said about 13,600 trucks had been tagged nationwide to date, with a 2-D encrypt code imprinted on the body of petroleum tankers.
It said that PEF(M)B and NARTO/PTD pledged to meet monthly at committee level with MOMAN, on a quarterly basis, to quickly resolve any issues.
The National Chairman, PTD, Chief Salimon Oladiti, and Executive Secretary, MOMAN, Mr Obafemi Olawore, confirmed to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) the unions' agreement in the communique.
The meeting was also attended by NNPC Retail Representative, Mr Tafida A.T and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency representative, Mr Ishaku Abner.
#Nigeria #NARTO