“I did not choose a rubber stamp successor but someone that will ensure industrial peace in the port,” – Adeyanju
"I did not choose a rubber stamp successor but someone that will ensure industrial peace in the port," - Adeyanju
Segun Oladipupo
The outgoing President General (PG) of the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju on Friday said he did not choose a successor in order to perpetuate himself in office but to ensure industrial peace and harmony in the maritime sector.
He said this at a media briefing with some journalists at the union secretariat in Lagos.
Asked if there won’t be friction between him and his anointed candidate, Adeyanju who doubles as the First Deputy President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said he did not choose his successor, Comrade Francis Bunu in order to control him because according to him, the incoming PG has his ideologies and things he would like to achieve which are different from his own ideals.
He maintained that he chose him because he is a vibrant unionist who has the interest of workers at heart and that he is a good negotiator.
“You can’t rule out friction between the incoming and I because his idea may be different. I did not put any person there to rubber stamp him.
“But I don’t we should envisage them. We are not politicians but unionists.
“The enormity of assignment he has in the port is enough for him than for him to dwell on bickering.
“The person coming is a seasoned unionist and I am not going to teleguide him,” he assured.
Speaking on his achievements as the helmsman of the union for the past eight years, he enthused that his greatest achievement during the period is the ability to reform in the union.
He noted that of not for the reform of dockworkers, the atmosphere would have been tensed up especially as the elections are coming up soon.
Adeyanju who is a Fellow of Nigeria Labour Institute stated that hitherto, Dockworkers were usually called from the road side to work in the port without any official condition of service
According to him, Dockworkers now have a condition of service contained in the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC).
His words, “My greatest achievement is the reform that everybody is enjoying in the port today. I also believe that the incoming administration will build on this.
“The Dockworkers are not that poor that anyone can call them by the roadside workers. If we had the condition of service of we have now, this union would have gone farther than this.
“I felt the need to embrace global trend because it is no longer the era of banging tables . My take home is is the peace that everybody is enjoying today. I love peace, I don’t believe in violence,” he said.
Speaking further on his achievements, he said he declared a state of emergency in the shipping sector because the workers were not well remunerated.
Adeyanju who is the African ITF Chairman, said that the wages of shipping workers was between N20 to N30 thousand, he said after the state of emergency, the least earner now takes home an average of N200 thousand.
The Labour leader added that when he took over as the PG, he discovered that the salaries of Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA workers was not reviewed for a long time which he took upon himself to ensure their salaries were reviewed
Earlier, he appreciated the support of maritime journalists during his tenure in office saying he never had a bad press
He pleaded that same gesture should be extended to the incoming President General of the union..
