Nted advises MWUN to guard against electoral violence

Segun Oladipupo

The leadership of the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has been advised to manage its forthcoming elections into the national executive council very well to avoid the experiences of the past

Immediate past President General, Tony Nted made the call at the weekend when speaking with the National Executive Council of the union in Lagos.

Nted noted that past experience showed that every build up to election is always marred with disturbances, acrimony and disaffection.

He said to avoid same, the present executives should manage the forthcoming election so that the election would not be hijacked.

Recall that the election into the offices of the National Executives comes up in March, 2021.

“As you all know from experiences, each time our election is around the corner, there is always a potential for disturbances, acrimony and disaffection.

“You must manage it well so that there will be peace and togetherness and that it will turn out successful.

“You must manage it well so that our election is not hijacked and become a hotbed that will disrupt the entire industry. You must look for those signs of trouble and nip them in the bud

Speaking further, while commending the present executives for the feats achieved so far, he called on the executives to do more,saying the reward of hard work is more work.

“More needs to be done in the area of welfare support, in the area of collective bargaining and adequate compensation and renumerations.

“More needs to be done in the area of working conditions and in the area of exposure to training of members and capacity building. We need to do more in that area of standardisation of service delivery

“You need to do more in the area of challenging our colleagues to rise to the bar about this service delivery. More can be done and more should be done to further our interest.

“There is no doubt that you are trying very hard with your team and colleagues but like Oliver Twist, we are seeking for more and we know that you will do it.

“I must also commend you for the cooperative that you formed and are managing. That is a good plan to the maritime workers and to your credit.

“I must also commend you for the peace you are sustaining in the industry for sustenance of not only the maritime but the economy at large,” he advised.