Maritime workers decry delay of terminal licence renewal

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria has expressed displeasure over the continuous delay in the renewal of the licences of the terminal operators.

According to them, the uncertainty surrounding the delay in terminal licence renewal is currently negatively impacting port operations.

The President General of MWUN, Adewale Adeyanju, said this in Lagos on Thursday at the 2024 Dockworkers Day organised by the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria in collaboration with the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria.

He said workers were determined to see the signing of the long overdue licences.

He appealed to the Federal Government to ensure that the agreements were signed as soon as possible.

“We want to see the renewal of the licences 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 said.

He further urged the terminal operators to keep training maritime workers and engaging qualified personnel to train workers.

Adeyanju, however, lamented that after spending millions of dollars to equip Maritime University Oron, its certificate was still not recognised overseas.

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, said the ministry, in conjunction with the Nigerian Ports Authority, was working to reposition the nation’s ports through the modernisation of the seaports.

Adegboyega said the move would address the dilapidating state of the port infrastructures to enhance efficiency and ensure competitiveness in the global maritime space.

Oyetola, represented by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Olujimi Oyetomi, assured that the Federal Government would continue to create an enabling environment by addressing the infrastructural gaps in the maritime sector to enhance service delivery and encourage the participation of the private sector.

“This is necessary to be able to enhance opportunities and harness the immense benefits in the sector,” Oyetola said.

The President of SCAN, Eugene Agha, noted that the country was on its way to optimising the benefits of its abundant ocean endowments with the creation of a separate ministry of marine and blue economy for the sector.

“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.