MWUN, NARTO, NAMTOP reunite after truckers attack, vow to end extortion, violence at Lagos ports

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), and Nexus Association of Maritime Transport Operators (NAMTOP) have reaffirmed their commitment to combat extortion and bring an end to violent incidents at the Lagos ports.

This renewed commitment was in response to the recent violent attack on truck drivers at the Tincan Island Port.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the coalition to foster collaboration and unity among transport stakeholders.

The collaborative meeting, attended by representatives of key stakeholders, including the Commissioner of Police, Western Port Authority, and Port Managers from Lagos Port Complex and Tin Can Island Port, emphasized the need for unity to achieve sustained peace in the port industry.

Speaking at the meeting which held at MWUN’s secretariat in Lagos on Tuesday, President General of MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, stated that businesses could only thrive in a peaceful atmosphere.

Adeyanju stressed that the coalition will resist external forces disrupting port operations and clarified that while collaboration with Lagos State is not opposed, the port must operate within regulated standards and should not be subjected to extortion.

“Today’s collaboration has signalled the end of what causes crisis in Apapa, and Tin-Can Island Ports because all of us have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU to work together and collaborate together.

“We are also collaborating because of the attitude of some security agencies attacking the investments of businessmen by extorting them and asking truck owners to bring as much as N50,000 and N100,000.

“The union is not against the Lagos State Truck and Cargo Committee, LASTCOC but due process must be followed in line with the rules and regulations that guide operations in the port.”

“The port is a regulated area; only people that have legitimate business to do at the port are allowed to enter the ports because operations in the port are regulated by law.

“There are two things that people are mixing up which we are about to resolve. The port is a regulated area whereby, before you do anything in the ports, you must affiliate yourself within the port and within the law that establishes the ports.

“Before you become an association, you must have a legitimate business doing in the ports. The port is not Jankara market, the port is not a garage where some people can come and think they can use it for their selfish interests.

“Yes collaboration can come but a marriage that is not well managed is called a marriage of inconvenience because it has broken down many times but we have been able to manage the marriage so that all of us can be on the same page. That is why we are having NARTO, NAMTOP, and the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria.

“What are on the ground are these three associations we have introduced to all stakeholders in the port. We have met the Commissioner of Police, we have equally met the two port Managers and we have the backing of the authorities that prescribe the limit for the collaboration, ” he said.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of NAMTOP, Mauroof Rilwan, brokered the peace accord and called for unity among the stakeholders, expressing optimism that progress and harmony would prevail after the agreement.

In their remarks, Chief Remi Ogungbemi emphasized the need for a permanent peace solution, while Stephan Okafor, General Manager, Operations, NARTO, expressed joy over the restoration of peace and the potential end to illegal extortion.