NCS urged union to shun strike, embrace dialogue
The Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, has urged the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) to embrace dialogue and halt the proposed strike at all ports in the country.
Adeniyi made this appeal during his team’s visit to the union’s headquarters in Lagos on Thursday.
Adeniyi was represented by Customs Area Controller, Apapa Customs Command, Comptroller Babatunde Olomu.
He acknowledged the contributions of the maritime workers in the ports, noting that the workers contribute more than 50 per cent of the Service’s total revenue generation.
He stated that he had already engaged port operators on the challenges facing maritime workers, aiming to provide sustainable solutions, recognising the strategic role they play in revenue generation.
“Interestingly, the NCS surpassed its revenue target of N6.1 trillion for the Federal Government in 2024, thanks to the seamless operations of all the maritime workers and port users.
“We cannot achieve much without your input. This is why we decided to intervene and resolve all the issues to avoid demurrage and make Nigeria a preferred destination for cargo clearance across Africa,” he said.
He pleaded with the union to reconsider and suspend their proposed strike.
The MWUN National President, Dr Adewale Adeyanju, commended President Bola Tinubu for appointing a grassroots person to head the NCS and pledged the union’s continuous support to enable Customs to achieve the 2025 revenue target of N12 trillion.
“I want to assure the Comptroller-General of Customs that the union is no longer going on strike. We want to establish a ‘marriage of convenience’ with all port operators.
“We will follow due process as we want the government to address our challenges holistically.
“We are not saying that the government should not introduce a task force, but the government should have created awareness to enable truck owners to vacate the parking spaces they occupied,” ×Adeyanju said.
He lamented the poor salaries of maritime workers, adding that the government should investigate and rescue the workers from what he termed “slavery.”
Adeyanju called for a “marriage of convenience” between the union and port users, adding that the union would continue to collaborate for the progress of the nation.
He said that the task force arrived around 3:00 a.m., damaged some trucks belonging to veteran union members, and demanded a fine of N500,000 before releasing the trucks.
Adeyanju called on the government to call the task force to order to prevent a strike at the ports.
“We are not troublesome people; we need to solve the problems together. We also appreciate Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi for coming to our headquarters.
“This is the first time in history that a Customs officer has approached the Maritime Workers Union’s secretariat, which means a lot to the union, and we will forever be grateful for this gesture,” Adeyanju said.
Also speaking, the President of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Chief Remi Ogungbemi, commended the role of Customs in port development.
“Before now, we used to clash with Customs over cargo interception outside the ports, but through training, we have come to understand that the interceptions are often caused by clearing agents due to under-declaration of consignments.
“Most of our trucks are rickety because the money for repairs is spent on settling various issues,” Ogungbemi said.
The Deputy National President-General of MWUN, Comrade Toney Harry, in his closing remarks, commended the effort of the Customs Area Controller, Apapa, for taking the bold step.
He said that the visit would boost revenue generation and reduce the time it takes to do business at the port.
The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), and the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) had proposed to embark on a strike. on Feb. 20, 2025.
The unions had issued a three-day ultimatum to the Lagos State government, demanding the immediate disbandment of two state committees and the unconditional release of all impounded trucks.
The unions have accused the Lagos State Committee on Removal of Abandoned Vehicles and the Special Traffic Management Committee in Apapa of engaging in arbitrary truck seizures, extortion and violence. (NAN).
The Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, in Lagos on Thursday, urged the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria(MWUN), to embrace dialogue and stop the proposed strike at all ports of the country.
Adeniyi urged the union when his team visited the union’s headquarters.
Adeniyi was represented by Customs Area Controller, Apapa Customs Command Comptroller, Babatunde Olomu.
He acknowledged the contributions of the maritime workers in the ports, adding that the workers contributed more than 50 per cent of the entire revenue generation of the NCS.
He said that he had already engaged port operators on the challenges facing the maritime workers, aimed at providing sustainable solution,
understanding the strategic role they played in revenue generation.
“Interestingly, the NCS surpassed its revenue target of N6.1 trillion for the Federal Government in 2024 with the seamless operations of all the maritime workers and the ports users.
“We can not achieve much without your input, this is why we decided to come in and resolve all the issues to avoid demurrage and make Nigeria a preferred destination for cargo clearance across Africa,”he said.
He pleaded with the union to have a rethink and suspend their move on the proposed strike.
The MWUN National President, Dr Adewale Adeyanju, commended President Bola Tinubu, for appointing a grassroot person to head the NCS and pledged the union’s continuous support to enable customs achieve the 2025 revenue target of 12 trillion.
“I want to assure the Comptroller General of Customs that the union are no longer
going on strike. We want to establish marriage of convenience with all the ports operators.
“We will follow the due process as we want government to look into our challenges holistically.
“We are not saying that the government should not introduce taskforce but government should have crated an awareness to enable the truck owners vacate the parking space they occupied,”Adeyanju said.
He lamented over the poor salary of maritime workers, adding that government should investigate and rescue the workers from slavery.
Adeyanju called for marriage of convenience with the union and the port users, adding that the union would continue to collaborate for the progress of the nation.
He said that the taskforce came around 3.a.m, destroyed some trucks that belonged to an old unionists and asked them to pay fine of N500,000 before releasing the trucks.
Adeyanju called on the Government to call the taskforce to order to avoid strike at the ports.
“We are not troublesome people we need to solve the problems together. We also appreciate Comptroller General, Bashir Adeniyi for coming to our headquarters.
“This is the first time in the history that Customs officer will approach maritime workers union’s secretariat which means a lot to the union and we will forever be grateful for this gesture.,”Adeyanju said.
Also speaking, the President, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Chief Remi Ogungbemi, commended the role of customs in port building.
“Before now we usually fight customs over cargo interception outside the ports but will the training we are enable to know that the interception usually caused by the clearing agents as a result of under declaration of consignment.
“Most of our trucks are rickety because the money for repairs are been spent on settling one thing or the other,”Ogungbemi said.
The Deputy National President General of MWUN, Comrade Toney Harry, in his closing remarks, commended the effort of the Customs Area Controller, Apapa for taken the bold step.
He said that the visit would boost revenue generation and reduce time of doing business in the port.
The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), and the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), had proposed to embark on strike. on Feb. 20, 2025.
The union had issued a three-day ultimatum to the Lagos State government, demanding the immediate disbandment of two state committees and the unconditional release of all impounded trucks.
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