JUST IN: Petrol Queues To Disappear As NNPC Brokers Truce Between Employers, Tanker Drivers

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has explained that the current fuel queues in major cities across the country has nothing to do with scarcity of petrol, but a consequence of an industrial action embarked upon by tankers drivers over their condition of service.

NNPC GMD, Mele Kyari, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Tuesday after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja.

He, however, assured that the queues would soon disappear as the tanker drivers have suspended the industrial action.

Kyari further stated that the management of NNPC has waded into the dispute between the tanker drivers and their employers and a truce has been brokered.

Consequently, he said, the drivers had suspended their strike for one week to allow for more interventions, adding that loading of petroleum products, which was hitherto affected by the strike has commenced at all the depots in the country.

He said: “these queues will go away. It’s because there was an industrial action by petroleum tanker drivers against their employers, the National Association of Road Transport Owners around their compensation package and those issues were not resolved up till yesterday, until we intervene to ensure that there’s an amicable settlement between the parties so that they will have peace and then normal loading operations will commence from the depots.

“As I speak to you at this moment, loading has commenced in all depots in the country, dispatches of trucks are ongoing in all the depots in the country and they have called off the strike for a period of one week to enable us intervene and find a solution. So there’s really nothing fundamental that is happening now,” Kyari said.