Maritime Workers Threaten to Disrupt Port Operations Over Poor Access Roads.

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, has threatened to engage in a fresh strike action if the government does not speed up action on the ongoing rehabilitation of Apapa and Tin Can Island ports access roads.

The union said it is not satisfied with the slow pace of work on the roads, saying if government does not call on the contractors to expedite action, the maritime workers may embark on a total strike very soon.

Though the union did not state when the strike may commence, it said that the contractors must be mobilized to expedite the repair works.

Speaking with journalists in his office, Wednesday, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju said the union had suspended the ultimatum given to the government earlier this year because it thought the roads would have gone past the stage it is now.

According to him, the presidential task force on Apapa gridlock headed by the Vice President, Professor Femi Osinbajo has not performed very well because of the bad state of the roads.

He therefore charged the federal government to call the contractors to order to speed up the pace of work, failure which he said would elicit total close down of port operations.

“How will you be satisfied with what is going on in the port even on the road?

“The question at the back of the mind of everybody I think it has to do with the pace at which the construction work is going in both Apapa and Tincan. It is nothing to write home about.

“If you remember vividly, we only suspended our ultimatum and the way things are going now, we will be forced to renew the ultimatum and commence our normal strike.

“And that strike is going to be total if care is not taken. So, it is better for the government now to talk to the contractors handling the job to speed up.

“How can the federal government task force on Apapa gridlock work when the roads are not good”, he queried