The International Oil Companies (IOCs) have been issued a marching order for full operationalisation of government appointed stevedores from May 2 to 8, 2023.
The order came as a resolution at the recent meeting of the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, with relevant stakeholders to nip in the bud the lingering disputes between the IOCs and the appointed stevedoring companies.
The resolution made available to the press in a statement by the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) read:
“The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) under the leadership of Comrade (Prince) Adewale Adeyanju wish to inform the general public and other relevant stakeholders in the maritime sector after an exhaustive deliberation at the above meeting with all relevant stakeholders in attendance as follows:-
1) The Federal Ministry of Transportation
2) Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)
3) National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA)
4) International Oil Companies (IOCs)
5) Stevedoring Operators of Nigeria
6) Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN)
7) Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC)
8) NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS)
9) Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS)
“During the meeting, the following resolutions were reached thus:-
1) Operationalisation of the NPA appointed Stevedoring Operators at the Chevron Jetty, Warri by May 2, 2023
2) Other IOCs were given up to May 8, 2023 for full Operationalisation of appointed Stevedores
3) The President of the Stevedoring Association of Nigeria should work on continuous capacity building for their members; and
4) The Ministry in conjunction with NPA should arrange a visit to some of the jetties for an on-the-spot-assessment of the level of compliance of the IOCs and jetties operators immediately after May 8, 2023.
“However, these resolutions were taken by all the stakeholders in attendance with very strong penchant and conviction that these resolutions as aforementioned will be implemented to the letters as raised and signed.”