The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) have threatened to shut down seaports to protest the planned establishment of another body–Maritime Security and Safety Agency.
MWUN stated this in a petition signed by its President, Mr Tony Nted and Secretary-General, Mr Aham Ubani, and sent to President Goodluck Jonathan.
The petition, which made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, was copied to the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Minister of Transport.
The union claimed that the Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security (PICOMSS) planned to establish another agency, which it said, was unacceptable.
It described such an agency as a duplication of the existing Federal Government Agency, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
It said that the draft bill captioned “Maritime Security Bill 2009’’ was first presented to the National Assembly in January 2010.
“The draft was presented to the National Assembly and public hearing on it was held on Jan. 13, 2010. The bill is slated for another public hearing on Tuesday.
“Stakeholders were unanimous in rejecting the bill on the ground that the authority, function and financing of the proposed agency are clear duplication of an existing agency,’’ it said
The union said it was regrettable that in spite of the rejection of the draft bill, “another move was being made by some people to actualise their personal dream of a parallel agency’’.
“We cannot afford to watch while money meant for development is diverted to the duplication of an existing agency. That is why we call on the president to halt this move
“We wish to state that NIMASA since inception has been able to restore sanity to the Maritime sector in conjunction with Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA,’’ the union said.
It also noted that NIMASA had been collaborating effectively with the Nigerian Navy and the Marine Police for effective security of the sector.
It, therefore, advised that NIMASA and other security and safety services in the sector should be strengthened and professionalized, rather than set up another body.