NPA In ‘Coded’ Romance with IOC’s Breaking Nigerian Stevedoring Laws

Three months after the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) suspended its decision to shutdown the nation’s seaports over refusal of the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and Stevedoring Contractors to comply with the Stevedoring extant laws, the union has alleged that Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is playing to the gallery with the IOC’s.

In a chat with newsmen on Friday, President General of MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju lamented that up till now, the Managing Director of NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko has refused to furnish the union with names of those IOC’S that have complied.

“The Nigerian Ports Authority are in a better position to tell the whole world where we are on the issue of the IOC’S, you remember that we signed an agreement with them and that agreement has already elapsed, and we expected them to furnish us with the names of those companies that complied by allowing the stevedores to be in their terminals.

“It is left for the union to wake up again and start revisiting this issue.

“The MD of NPA had assured us back then that 70 percent of the IOC’s have complied, but we asked him to give us the names of those that have allowed stevedoring contractors to work in their facilities, but up till now we don’t know, the way it is now, its like a coded compliance, it is coded” Adeyanju lamented

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Continuing, Comrade Adeyanju who doubles as the Deputy President of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) alleged that the union is being cheated by NPA and the IOC’S aparent romance.

“To us as an organised labour, we feel we are being cheated on this issue because they are not carrying us along, and we don’t even know who and who have been engaged by the IOC’s in their terminals” he said

TrackNews recalls that in January 2024, the NPA MD, Mohammed Bello-Koko, brokered peace between the leadership of MWUN and marginal field operators of the oil and gas industry over non-compliance with Stevedoring regulations.

Appealing to the maritime workers during the meeting, Mohammed Bello Koko, said, “We will do all it takes to ensure industrial harmony and prevent the shutdown of crucial production platforms of the Oil and Gas and allied industries that maritime workers control. The national economy cannot afford any shutdown at this time.”

Immediately after the meeting, the President-general, MWUN, Adewale Adeyanju, directed all his members under the four branches of the union to resume normal duties with immediate effect.

The resolutions arrived at are: That though the IOCs have substantially complied with deployment of Labour, the matter of equipment deployment is to be examined within the next three months.

“That meetings be facilitated within one week by the relevant regulators and the marginal field operators and all other non-compliant operators to ensure immediate compliance with the Stevedoring Regulations and granting of access to appoint Stevedores.

“That full resolutions of all issues relating to compliance and grants of access to work locations to Stevedores by location Operators be sorted out between now and end of January, 2024.

“That while these actions are being taken, the earlier communique reached Friday, the 5th of January, 2024 be immediately implemented as mark of good faith and that based on the above resolutions, the union has decided to lift the impending