The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria has said that the safety of port workers under dilapidated quay aprons is not guaranteed.
The President General of MWUN, Adewale Adeyanju, stated this in a chat with The PUNCH in Lagos on Monday.
According to him, the workers’ lives are no longer safe because of the quay aprons, which are sinking and decaying.
“The lives of the workers are no longer safe because of the quay aprons, which are sinking, decaying. And most of the cranes they are using, some of them are 200 tons, 500 tons on a quay apron that is sinking, already going. So, tell me about the safety of the workers of that place.
Where is the safety of the port users and stakeholders operating there? All the people working within that quay apron side, including dockworkers, NPA, and port users, among others, their safety is no longer guaranteed,” Adeyanju said.
He said there were plans to withdraw their service due to the poor state of the terminal for now, stressing that they have a process of doing that.
“It has not gotten to the extent of withdrawing the service of our members. We follow due process. We have to engage our principals, the terminal operators, and mostly, the owner of the port, which is the Nigerian Ports Authority. Because you know we just got a new MD. Who is an insider and a proactive person?” he said.
He expressed confidence in the Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho-led NPA administration to ensure that the area of port infrastructure is given a facelift.
“I believe he is coming; he will look at his book to know if they have awarded the contract to a contractor that will ensure that the quay aprons are getting a facelift,” he stated.
Adeyanju mentioned that some terminals were grounded, which was why they lost a dockworker about three weeks ago.