Maritime workers threaten ports shutdown

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria has stated that it would comply with the Nigeria Labour Congress directive to mobilise for an indefinite nationwide strike if the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Joe Ajero, is detained by the Nigerian Police.

The decision came after an emergency meeting of the NLC’s National Executive Council on Tuesday.

The meeting was held in response to what the congress described as unwarranted intimidation by the Nigeria Police Force on the labour movement.

The PUNCH reported that the police had summoned Ajaero for questioning over allegations of terrorism financing, cybercrime, and other related offences.

The invitation letter, signed by ACP Adamu Muazu on behalf of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Intelligence Response Team, warned that a warrant of arrest would be issued if Ajaero failed to comply.

The letter reads: “This office is investigating a case of criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion, and cybercrime in which you have been implicated.”

Reacting to the allegation, the Deputy Secretary General of MWUN, an affiliate of NLC, Oniha Erazua, in a chat with our correspondent on Wednesday, said that the union would not hesitate to withdraw its members across all ports, jetties, terminals, and oil and gas platforms if anything happens to the NLC president.

According to Erazua, as an affiliate of the NLC, the union had directed their members to be on alert to shut down the ports, and jetties, among others, if anything happened to the president of the NLC.

“There is a proviso and what that means is if anything happens to the president of NLC, we are not shutting down the port directly today until there is action that has taken against the Labour body in Nigeria,” he explained.

Erazua added that the NLC president might likely honour the invitation by the police next week.

“We are not going to any strike today. I sincerely don’t know when the NLC president plans to honour the invite but I can comfortably inform you that the Femi Falana (SAN) had written to the police to allow the president to come next week.

“We issued a statement, which was based on the action of yesterday (Tuesday). You know there was a threat to arrest the NLC president on Tuesday, that was why the statement was issued,” he concluded.