The President of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Yusuf Othman, has attributed the naira’s recent performance against the U.S. dollar to reduced pressure to import petroleum products.
Othman said the availability of petroleum products locally and the fact that they can be purchased in naira have helped reduce demand for foreign exchange in the sector.
He made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
According to him, the situation has, however, affected road transport owners involved in the distribution of petroleum products, with many of NARTO’s members currently having little or no work.
He linked the development to the activities of one of the refineries, which he said was distributing petroleum products free of charge, thereby reducing the need for the services provided by transporters.
Othman also said the rates paid to transport companies are generally fixed and applicable to all operators, making the charges relatively small compared with the pump price.
On the recent increase in the pump price, the NARTO president attributed the development to issues in the Middle East, noting that several other countries had also been affected by the situation.
He, however, said the impact had not been as severe in some of those countries because they maintained strategic reserves.
Othman said Nigeria has several government depots across the country and previously maintained strategic reserves, but added that, to the best of his knowledge, most of the reserves are currently empty.
He said the depletion of the reserves means Nigeria has to depend on petroleum products coming into the country, a supply chain that is influenced by several factors.
The NARTO president said there had been discussions with the current government on measures to put the necessary structures in place and prevent future fluctuations in petroleum product prices.