Prioritize Agency Effectiveness In Maritime Industry – Prince Adeyanju

Having an effective maritime agency being run professionally the way it should thereby bringing about desired change is preferable to having an independent maritime ministry.

The President-General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Prince Adewale Adeyanju made this assertion while fielding questions from journalists at the Round Table discussion organized by the Maritime Journalists Association of Nigeria (MAJAN), on Thursday, at the Association’s Secretariat in Apapa.

Prince Adeyanju has disclosed that he would prefer an effective maritime agency run by professionals just as we have Dr. Bashir Jamoh running the affairs of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) saying this is more important to him than having Maritime Ministry being created out of the Ministry of Transportation.

According to Prince Adeyanju, Dr. Jamoh has brought so many innovations and has greatly improved the Maritime industry” he said.

He suggested that appointments to Agencies like NPA and NiMASA, and others should be based on those who have deep knowledge of the industry, as this will bring about great value and improvement in the maritime industry.

R-L: The MWUN President General, and Ibadan Prince, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, with Mu’azu Jaji Sambo during the Courtesy visit, to the Minister’s Office

Prince Adeyanju, who is àlso the Deputy Vice President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), further stated that in other to address the issue of casuals workers, the union reached an agreement with relevant operators and agreed on three modes of operations that take care of all categories of dockworkers.

***R-L: The MWUN President General, and Ibadan Prince, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, with Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, during Adeyanju’s Courtesy visit, to the outgoing Minister’s Office***

“So we have three modes of operations that have taken care of this virus called casuals. We have permanent employment within the rank and file of the dockworkers. There is what we call payment by tonnage, this means that the tonnage the vessel brought would be shared amongst all the people that worked on board that vessel. And that depends on the volume. The union equally fights for their terminal benefits and their pension. So all the dockworkers in the ports today are pensionable and they are entitled to their terminal benefits,: pension and gratuity.

Prince Adeyanju however stated that despite these achievements recorded by the union, a lot more needs to be done as the issue of casuals is not completely settled.

The highlight of the event was the presentation of a special award to Prince Adeyanju by the President of MAJAN, Mr. Ray Ugochukwu, for his contribution to the maritime industry while describing him as a maritime icon who has brought so much improvement to both the workers and the union in particular.