MWUN Welcomes CP Port Police, Fosters Collaboration

MWUN Welcomes CP Port Police, Fosters Collaboration

By prince Benson Davies

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) under the able leadership of Comrade (Prince) Dr. Adewale Adeyanju, fnli, HFCPSP recently hosted the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Port Police Command, CP Ibrahim Balarabe Maikaba PSC + and his entourage which includes Deputy Commissioner of Police ( Operations) Ibrahim Abdu, O/c of the CP Monitoring team, CSP Ojo Ahmed, Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Kirikiri Lighter Terminal, CSP Ibimode Adeleye amongst others.

The CP of the command, Mr. Ibrahim and his entourage visit to the Maritime Workers Union was majorly to fraternize and familiarize his command with one of the foremost Maritime Union in the country, which its leadership the CP said is worthy of commendation. The Port Police Chief says he’s overwhelmed with the warm reception accorded him and his team at the Union’s secretariat, which he described as monumental and unprecedented.

The CP also noted that the Maritime Workers Union and the Command have formed a community synergy with the visit which he said was one of the basic reasons for the all important visit.

Mr Ibrahim also explained to the President -General of the Union, who doubles as the Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Vice President Global, International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) that he should see the Police as brothers and not mere friends as goes the popular cliche as the Police cannot work in isolation without the Union, who is a major stakeholder in the maritime industry.

The CP in his speech also described Dr Adeyanju as a brother and said that his office is fully open to the PG at all times; stressing he’s impressed with the kind of personalities in the executives of the Union.

Prince Adeyanju was indeed delightful on the visit of the Port Police Command under the helms of CP Ibrahim, whom he described as a crack and a versatile Police officer, who graduated from the Nigeria Police Academy in June, 1994 as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), who had risen to the rank of Commissioner of Police (CP) at the Police Force Headquarters in Abuja before his recent deployment to the Port Command, Apapa, Lagos.

Prince Adeyanju says that CP Ibrahim parades intimidating profile so far in his career in the force after serving in various capacities and having led contingents of officers to peace keeping missions to Sudan and Kosovo respectively, where he received the United Nation (UN) commendation award amongst others.

The PG of the Union raised a rhetorical question during the occasion, asking the police chief: What’s Police(?). Comrade Adeyanju answered that Police is all about policing, stressing that CP Ibrahim as an embodiment of policing; hence, his numerous achievements in the course of his various designations in the force, saying little wonder his newest rank and his deployment to the Port for effective and efficient policing as a seasoned officer worth his onions in our time.

The PG and his entire executives were happy over the CP’s August visit, admitting that it was the very first time the Union will be playing host to the Port Police Command and it will go down in the annals of the Maritime Workers Union history.

The foremost Maritime Labour leader promised to work together with the command assuring the entourage that the era of thuggery and hooliganism had since gone into the limbo, hence, the Union has been digitalized with crops of well trained Union workers both at the jetties, oil & gas platforms and the nation’s sea ports.

The PG also made it known to CP that most times, the Union can issue threats of strikes if after having exhausting all necessary stipulated avenues with the government or stakeholders and positive responses aren’t forthcoming. The PG also noted the economic implications of shutting down the gateway of the nation’s economy, hence, the Union is always tactical and diplomatic about strikes until the Union is interfaced with a meaning dialogue to resolving whatever industrial disputes that came up.

The Union was also of the view that with Mr Ibrahim at the helms of affairs at the Port, having struck this declared community synergy, the port environment will be in a conducive atmosphere for operations.

Comrade Adeyanju also assured the Command that he’s going to take its issue of effective policing to both Dr Dayo Mobereola, the Director -General of NIMASA and Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, who he described as great gentlemen of the sector to intimate the two heads of parastatals on the need to equip the police properly. He says, you cannot appoint a police officer into a designation without the necessary equipment made available for crime prevention and protection of property.