IOCs have no regards for Nigerian laws— Comrade Adeyanju

About five months after former Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi directed the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to comply with the extant laws allowing Stevedoring contractors to operate in ports and terminals, the foreigners remain adamant.

Some of the IOCs are yet to allow Stevedoring contractors into their jetties and terminals which is in contravention of the local content laws.

Speaking on the development, President General of the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju who condemned the attitude of the foreigners, said most of the foreign business owners have no regard for Nigerian laws.

He added that they do whatever they like because they believe they have money.

Comrade Adeyanju maintained that the multi nationals come to Nigeria to make enormous money but repatriate the money to their home countries to develop their countries without impact on Nigeria.

As a result, he called on the federal government to give more grounds to local investors to develop their businesses.

“We need to applaud our indigenous terminal operators because most of these foreign concessionaires like APMT and other multi nationals came here to invest and they are making hell of money here to develop their countries. Why then don’t we encourage our own indigenous terminal operators?

“Government should encourage the local investors because most of the foreign investors like the IOCs have no regard for Nigerian laws, they do whatever they like because they believe government has given them enough security where they can slap Nigerians in the face of our law enforcement agents.

“They don’t care because they have the money. Imagine that Minister of Transportation gave an order to IOCs that they should comply with extant laws that established stevedoring contractors in the port, seven days has turned to five or six months now.

“Our indigenous terminal operators have done well, when they were just coming, we thought they won’t perform but now we have seen the dividends of privatizing the port

“It has generated employment because when the port was concessioned, it affected the staff of NPA from 14,000 to 3,000

“As it is, we need to encourage them to improve on their terminals. Agreed that some of them are good while some are not but for me, they have come to stay and anyone that is not performing well, you review their agreement,” he advocated.