Maritime Workers under the aegis of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) have expressed their displeasure over the continuous delay in the renewal of the licenses of the terminal operators at the nation’s seaports.
President, MWUN, Adewale Adeyanju, who made this known at the 2024 Dockworkers Day organised by the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN) in collaboration with the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), in Lagos, said the workers are determined to see the signing of the licenses which have been long overdue.
He appealed to the Federal Government to ensure that the agreements are signed as soon as possible, as this is currently impacting on operations at the seaports.
Adeyanju said: “We want to see the renewal of the licenses of terminal operators. There are a lot of dividends that we are getting from giving us responsible terminal operators. Why are you delaying the signing of their agreements? The workers are now warming up, because they are worried about what is happening to their employees.
He urged the terminal operators to keep training maritime workers and engage qualified personnels in the training, saying, “enough of training us under the Apple tree”.
Adeyanju, however, lamented that after spending millions of dollars to equip Maritime University Oron, their certificate is still not recognized overseas.
The Minister for Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, said the Ministry in conjunction with the Nigerian Ports Authority in a quest to reposition the nation’s ports has commenced processes for the modernization of the seaports, which are to address dilapidating state of the port infrastructures to enhance efficiency and ensure competitiveness in the global maritime space.
Oyetola, who was represented by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Olujimi Oyetomi, assured that the Federal Government wiould continue to create enabling environment to encourage the participation of the private sector in order to address the infrastructural gaps in the maritime sector to enhance service delivery.
This, he said, is necessary to be able to attain the goals, enhance opportunities and harness the immense benefits in the sector.
Chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Adeleye Ajayi, expressed concerns that in spite of their relevance, the Dockworkers are not properly treated and often the least regarded by terminal operators and ship owners, to the extent of their safety in the course of work being overlooked.
Noting that the Nigerian dock labour has been transformed and sanitized, Ajayi stressed the need to create a safer operating environment at the ports, as it is important to retrain stevedores and dock workers.
He, however, applauded the partnership between SCAN and MWUN, urging that it should wax stronger to create more efficiency at the ports.
President, SCAN, Eugene Agha, said Nigeria is on its way to optimizing the benefits of its abundant ocean endowments with the creation of a separate ministry of marine and blue economy for the sector. Already, he said both government and private sector stakeholders are repositioning to make the most of this reality.
“In an import -dependent economy, and with the port sector a primary segment of the nation’s focus for revenue generation and economic diversification, we at SCAN believe that Dockworkers are pivotal in translating the efforts to exploit the nation’s near-endless marine potentials into economic wealth,” he said.
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