Sambo Affirms Criticality of Maritime Workers

…As Adeyanju Raps FG on Dredging of Calabar, Warri, PH Channels

BY GBOGBOWA GBOWA

The President of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) Comrade Adewale Adeyanju has again drawn the attention of the Federal Government to the urgent need of dredging a number of the nation’s ports channels, including the Calabar, Warri and Port Harcourt ports.

Adeyanju who gave the advice when he paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Transportation, Mau’zu Jaji Sambo in his office yesterday, said the dredging will ease the ongoing flooding in the Lokoja areas and other parts of the country.

He explained that the courtesy visit with his management executive was to congratulate the minister on his appointment and discuss some important matters bothering the association.

Responding, Sambo described maritime workers as vital not only to the maritime industry but to Nigeria’s economy as a whole.

The Minister noted that since his tenure is a short one, he would require the union’s support, advice and guidance to enable him leave legacy projects before his tenure terminates on May 29, 2023.

“If we deliver on our promises before the end of this administration, we would have left some legacies for Nigerians.

“On the other hand, those we didn’t achieve will be a foundation for others to build on”, he said.

Speaking further, the minister explained  that having been a part and parcel of the maritime industry in his public service career which he started with the Nigerian Ports Authority, he has no reason to tell Nigerians that he recorded not a single achievement while at the helm of affairs in Transportation Ministry.

Speaking further, Adeyanju further used the occasion to inform the minister that the the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has commenced the process of issuance of Biometric Identity Cards to seafarers and dock workers, undertaken to checkmate the influx of unauthorized persons into the ports.

This is even as he was quoted to have used the opportunity to urge NIMASA to speedy the process and to avail maritime workers and seafarers a reliable national means of identification.