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By Bimbola Oyesola
The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has threatened to resume its suspended strike across the nation’s ports without further notification due to the refusal of the international oil companies (IOCs) to comply with the country’s marine regulations and procedures.
The union had last month threatened to embark on industrial action but suspended it due to intervention from several stakeholders.
Speaking with Daily Sun at the weekend, president-general of the MWUN, Adeyanju Adewale, said, out of 30 IOCs operating in the country, only three have complied, thus making Nigeria lose huge revenue in the oil and gas sector.
The MWUN boss urged the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and his petroleum counterpart, Timipre Sylva, to show more commitment in the maritime sector.
Adeyanju said Amaechi’s non-commitment to the sector was making the country lose huge revenue. He urged Amaechi and Sylva to work in tandem and investigate the resistance of the IOCs’ non-compliance with the extant stevedoring regulations, otherwise known as Government Marine Notice 106 of 2014.
He alleged that the IOCs had ignored the minister’s directives and other top stakeholders, including the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) that they should allow stevedoring companies access to their platforms to commence operations.
He said the directive issued since last year was supposed to enable the registered dockworkers, along with the appointed and deployed stevedoring companies, to operate on the IOCs’ platforms.
However, he said up till now the IOCs have refused the appointed and deployed stevedoring companies to commence operations and thus deprived its members (dockworkers) in the employ of the stevedoring companies the chance to work and earn a living.
He threatened that the union would renew the suspended strike, if no measures were taken to address the issue.
In the same vein, the labour leader lamented that Nigeria was losing huge revenue over insecurity due to absence of tally clerks and onboard security men on vessels in the nation’s ports.
He noted that their absence was making vessels laden for Nigerian ports become porous as they were loaded with dangerous cargoes such as illicit drugs, arms and ammunition, as well as give access to stowaways, among others.
Adeyanju said onboard security men, otherwise known as ‘onboard ship gangway securitymen,’ should be reinstated to restore security onboard vessels in the ports.
He said a large percentage of vessels coming into Nigerian ports were porous but, with the presence of onboard security men and tally clerks, vessels laden with dangerous cargoes could be easily spotted and surveillance placed on the vessels.
He denied that they connived with other officials to aid and abet crime that led to their removal onboard vessels but said government’s unfriendly policies have made this very important department to be withdrawn from vessels.
He said: “If government wants to achieve more they should bring them back. The vessels coming into the Nigerian ports are so porous. Anything can go out and come in. With onboard security men, we will be able to restore security onboard vessels.
