Maritime Workers Warm Up for Fresh Strike Action over Dilapidated Port Access Road

Abiola Seun I

Except the Federal government rehabilitates and makes the Tin-Can Island end of the Oshodi-Apapa expressway is motorable by the end of June, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), has vowed to resume its suspended strike action that may ground port activities in Lagos ports.

Speaking over the weekend, the President-General of the union, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju said the government had in an agreement with the union earlier in the year, promised to repair the Ijora-Apapa and Oshodi-Apapa expressway before the end of second quarter.

While Adeyanju acknowledged the effort made to reconstruct the Ijora-Apapa road, he bemoaned the dilapidated and abandoned state of the Oshodi-Apapa road.
According to the union leader, if nothing tangible is done on the state of the road before the end of June, the union would issue fresh ultimatum on strike action to the federal government.
“We (FG and Union) have both signed a communique about the road and the government promised that by second quarter something reasonable would be done on all the access roads leading to the nation’s seaport.

“You can go to Area B to Apapa now the road is moving in faster pace than we had before but where we are having cross road with the government is that of Tincan island because nothing has been done on that road and it is part of our agreement,” the union leader declared.

He also disclosed that the union is in solidarity with the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on the need for government to declare state of emergency on Nigerian roads, especially trunk A roads in the country.
“We are in line with NUPENG for government to declare a state of emergency on Nigerian roads but our position is different from theirs because they also contribute to the dilapidated state of the roads by indiscriminate parking on the shoulders of the roads.

“They don’t have right to park on the roads even if government repairs the road and it’s not being properly managed, the tanker drivers will park on it and will destroy the roads.”
Adeyanju further stated that the intended strike to ground activities at the ports still subsists but was suspended after intervention by the Ministers of Labour and Transportation.
“We only suspended our strike based on the intervention of the government especially the respectable ministers of Labour, and transportation, Dr Chris Ngige and Rotimi Amaechi because of the respect we have for them but if they do not follow up with what the agreement says which was fixing the roads and making it motorable by second quarter of 2018 ,we will renew our ultimatum.”
Adeyanju who expressed confidence in the Federal Government to fix the Tin-Can Island roads before the end of the second quarter said government, terminal operators and importers are losing a fortune to the bad state of the roads.
He also said investors and business owners have abandoned the area leading to job loss to maritime workers.

“The management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) said they are ready to take up the road and repair but the ministry of Power Works and Housing said it is their baby and NPA hands down. Even though, when we issued an ultimatum, a committee was set up by same management of NPA, we all visited the bad roads to show that we are ready because we know what Nigerians are losing, NPA, terminal operators are losing a lot because of this bad roads.

A communique has been signed and we are standing by it, by June we will exit second quarter so we are waiting for them.