Maritime workers threaten to shut seaports over unpaid wages by IOCs

• Completion of $99m Ibadan dry port sacrosanct, says NSC boss

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has vowed to shut down the nation’s seaports over unpaid wages by International Oil Companies (IOCs). It issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government with a view to compelling the IOCs to pay all outstanding bills to dockworkers for over a year.

President and Secretary General of MWUN, Adewale Adeyanju and Felix Akingboye, asked the Federal Ministry of Transportation to prevail on managements of the IOCs to pay all outstanding bills to its members within the next 14 days. They cautioned that failure to meet their demands would lead to withdrawal of their services, as they would shut down operations in all the nation’s seaports. Adeyanju said they could no longer continue to watch their members die prematurely due to the IOCs’ continued defiance.
Meanwhile, Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC), Hassan Bello, has disclosed that the deadline for the completion of Ibadan dry port project remains sacrosanct, adding that the Oyo State government was aligning with speedy completion of the project. Bello disclosed this yesterday in Ibadan, after a meeting with the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, with a view to completing the Ibadan dry port project.

NSC boss noted that the purpose of their meeting with the Oyo State government was to officially brief the state government on the milestone achievement concerning the completion of the $99 million US dollars Ibadan dry port project.
Also speaking after the meeting, Director General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Chidi Izuwah, said the dry port will create more jobs when private partnership come in after its completion.