The rising increase in the pump price of diesel from N187 to N820 per litre between August 2020 and June 2022 is said to be having adverse effect in the optimal operation of tipper drivers across the state.

In an interview with the Chairman of Old Anwai Road Tipper Garage, Asaba, Mr David Nonso, he attributed the current increase in the price of diesel to the rise in the price of crude oil in the international market.

He said that truck owners could no longer make projections, blaming it on the increases in the pump price of diesel.

According to the chairman, the price of diesel kept increasing and nothing was being done about it, adding that with the high inflation rate in the country, it meant that people had less money to buy goods.

Another tipper driver, Mr Chubike Okafor said that many tipper drivers were enduring and working just to put food on their table, adding that the hike in diesel price and spare parts had made their work unbearable.

According to Mr Tony Okoro, a tipper driver, the increment of the prices of sand became necessary due to the high cost of diesel, explaining that the ten tyre tipper that was sold for 50,000 (fifty was now N100,000 while the single tipper that was sold for 25,000 was now sold for N50, 000.

The tipper drivers pleaded with their clients to show understanding, saying that it was not their intention to increase the prices of sand but a matter of survival for them to remain in business.

“It is because of the suffering, explaining that the owners of the truck are collecting back their trucks because they do not get any profit while spares for the truck are expensive,”​ he said.