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The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, has urged wharf truck owners to embrace dialogue and constructive engagement in resolving disputes with government, employers, and other stakeholders, warning against confrontation and industrial conflict.
Dingyadi, who spoke in Lagos on Wednesday through the Director of Trade Union and Industrial Relations in the ministry, Amos Falonipe, gave the charge at the inauguration of the national officers of the Amalgamated Union of Wharf Truck Owners of Nigeria.
The minister described the registration of the union as a major milestone, but said it also marked the beginning of greater responsibilities to its members, government, employers and other stakeholders in the maritime and transport sectors.
He urged the union to see itself as a partner in progress rather than an organisation established to confront government or other stakeholders.
“We are not registered to fight anybody. We are not registered to fight our stakeholders. We are registered to work together as partners in progress,” he said.
Dingyadi added: “When there are issues, we should sit together and resolve them. We don’t want us to be fighting.”
He said the union’s legal registration provided the foundation for its credibility and effective operation, charging its leadership to conduct its affairs in line with Nigerian labour laws.
The minister reminded the newly inaugurated officers that freedom of association was guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution, urging them to familiarise themselves with the Trade Unions Act and the union’s constitution.
He also charged the leadership to strengthen membership, maintain accurate records and ensure transparency and accountability in the management of the union’s finances.
Dingyadi directed the union to keep proper accounts and subject them to annual audits, stressing that expenditure must comply with its constitution and relevant laws.
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He further urged the executives to conduct elections in accordance with the union’s constitution and established procedures.
Speaking at the event, the National President of the union, Adeyemi Bamidele, said its registration on July 27, 2026, represented the formal recognition of wharf truck owners as a legitimate collective body within Nigeria’s industrial and economic system.
Bamidele described wharf truck owners as critical players in the maritime, transport and logistics chain, noting that efficient cargo evacuation was essential to reducing port congestion and preventing avoidable economic losses.
He called for stronger consultation between government and legitimate representatives of wharf truck owners on policies and decisions affecting the sector.
“We seek partnership. We seek consultation. We seek fairness. We seek an efficient and transparent operating environment,” Bamidele said.
He pledged that the union would promote professionalism, discipline and improved working conditions among its members while maintaining peaceful relationships with government agencies, port authorities, terminal operators and other stakeholders.
Bamidele said the union would also resist injustice, touting and extortion, but emphasised that defending the interests of members would not be used as a justification for violating the law.
“Our commitment to defending the interests of our members shall never be an excuse for lawlessness,” he said.
The inaugurated officers are Yekeen Olawale Rilwan, Deputy President; Alli Mohamed, Vice President; Prince Adeniji Olisola, General Secretary; Gbadebo Michael, Assistant General Secretary; Alhaji Awolola Saheed, Treasurer; Lawal Shina, Financial Secretary; Okelola Omogbolahan John, Publicity Secretary/Public Relations Officer; Olowokere Muyudeen, Welfare Officer; and Adeshina Saheed, Organising Secretary.
