The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello-Koko, has urged the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria to suspend its planned strike.
Bello-Koko, while disclosing this in a statement on Monday, said that the NPA has successfully brokered peace between the union and operators in the oil and gas industry over non-compliance with Stevedoring regulations.
The MWUN had, last week, threatened to shut the nation’s seaports, jetties, and oil and gas platforms on Tuesday (today) over what it described as the continued refusal of the International Oil Companies and Stevedoring Contractors to comply with the Stevedoring Extant Laws, “lack of access to work locations, lack of remittance of 3 percent MWUN levy by Stevedores.”
The union also complained that it had written a series of letters, press releases, ultimatums, marine notices, and several ministerial orders but all were serially ignored even as they blamed the NPA for allowing the IOCs to operate without control.
However, reacting to this, Bello-Koko said the agency would do all it takes to ensure peace and industrial harmony among the groups.
Bello-Koko added that at the end of the meeting which took place at the agency’s headquarters in Marina, Lagos State, a communiqué addressing the workers’ grievances and subsequent suspension of planned strike action was signed.
