NPA committed to industrial harmony – MD

The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mallam Habib Abdullahi, has reiterated the authority’s commitment to the maintenance of industrial harmony in the nation’s seaports.

Abdullahi, who was represented by the Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Engineer David Omonibeke, dropped the hint yesterday at a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos.

He said the NPA would continue to engage all stakeholders and ensure that all rules of engagement were followed.

He noted that the NPA as a law abiding organisation, appreciates the roles of tally clerks and onboard security men at the ports and had convened the meeting so that all conflicts in the sector could be properly explained.

Earlier, the chairman of the forum, the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Transport who was represented by the Director, Maritime Services, Alhaji Isa Galadanchi, called on all stakeholders to express their views on the way forward in the Maritime sector, stressing that there was need to agree on who pays for the services of tally clerks and onboard security men.

Stakeholders who made presentations during the meeting included the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Seaport Terminal Operators of Nigeria (STOAN), Shipping Companies and National Association of Stevedoring Companies, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC).