Diesel: To Cut Petrol Queues, FG Raises Transporters’ Rate Above N25/Km

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a raise in freight rate for petroleum transporters above the current N25 per kilometre to enable transporters get diesel in trucking petrol and other products.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), in a statement on Thursday, said the approval was granted after due consultations with industry-wide stakeholders.

Although the authority did not give the current rate, Daily Trust reports that the previous rate was N25 per kilometre, approved in January 2022.

Some of members of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) hinted that the new rate was a N10/km increase bringing the freight rate to N35/km.

NMDPRA said the review was necessitated by the upswing in the global price of petroleum products especially Automotive Gasoil (Diesel) and its implication on the cost of transporting petrol nationwide.

“The transporters freight rate has been reviewed to reflect current market realities. The revised freight rate takes effect from 1st June 2022 while still maintaining the current regulated PMS pump price of N165/litre,” it noted.

The authority also said an inter-agency team is being constituted to reconcile and pay outstanding transporters claims under the Bridging Fund Scheme.

It however assured that NNPC Ltd, the sole supplier of petrol, has maintained over 32 days sufficiency in-country.

“We believe the increase in transporters freight rate will further encourage and other stakeholders to deploy more trucks to transport PMS nationwide to ensure adequate supply of the product,” it noted.