Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has directed its members nationwide to shut ports operations and embark on a three-day warning strike from Monday, December 7, to protest the increasing problem of gridlock on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.
Specifically, the union linked its planned industrial action to the worsening situation of the major road to the deplorable state of the access roads to the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports which had led to loss of lives and man-hour loss among other dangers as a result of unending gridlock.
The decision to embark on the three-day warning strike by maritime workers was taken during the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Lagos State.
A communique issued at the end of the meeting by the President-General and Secretary-General of the Union, Prince Adeyanju Adewale and Felix Akingboye respectively, partly stated: “The National Executive Council, NEC, in-session wishes to draw the attention of the Federal Government once again to the deplorable state of the access roads to the Lagos Seaports, and the dangers this pose to lives and properties.
“To avoid the continuous and unnecessary deaths as well as a loss of man-hour on the failed roads, the NEC in- Session hereby calls on the Federal Government and the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, to urgently fix the access roads and make them motorable.
“The NEC in-Session unanimously approves the Central Working Committee, CWC recommendation that the Union proceeds on a three-day warning strike to bring to the public space our disappointment over the total neglect of the access roads to Lagos Ports by the successive government and the urgent need for government to repair the roads”, it added.
Earlier in his welcome address at the NEC meeting, Prince Adewale had lamented that the deplorable state of access roads to Lagos Ports was undesirable, pointing out that “it has not only affected businesses but the revenue of the government. We are not talking about the loss of lives, properties, and the health implications of the unending gridlock occasioned by the total take-over of the access roads by heavy-duty trucks such as containerized trucks, fuel tankers and others.
“Despite our previous calls, we once again, call on the government to see the problem of the access roads to Apapa and Tin Can Island ports complex as an emergency that should be solved and addressed permanently.
“I wish to call on the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to hasten discussion with NPA, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA and all the shipping companies responsible for the perennial gridlock that has bedevilled the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problem”, Adewale stressed.
