Maritime workers beg FG not to open borders anytime soon.

Segun Oladipupo

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) said the partial land closure by the Federal Government has yielded many dividends to the country in the last five years.

Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, President General of the Union said this in a chat with our correspondent in Lagos, recently.

He said that the diversion of cargo to neighbouring ports dropped by 30% and workers engagement in terms of labour productivity has increased.

According to the PG, vehicle importation has thrived within the period even as he pointed out that Roll On Roll Off (RORO) operations were gradually improving in the nation’s seaports.

He, therefore, commended the federal government and security agencies over the partial closure, saying made in Nigeria goods are already being accepted by the masses.

“The border closure exercise must be commended because we have seen the impact it has contributed to the nation’s economy.

“No doubt, vessel traffic has improved in our ports, locally-made goods have been accepted by us.

“Smuggling of cars from the border posts dropped and port operations improved by at least 30%, so I think the federal government must be commended for this action.

“I want to suggest to the government to further extend the border closure for a very long time to enable us to regain our lost glory”, the union leader affirmed.

He added, “In the last quarter of 2019, RORO operations improved tremendously and we will like this exercise to continue.