As COMTUA Dissociates From Purported Shutdown Of Port.

The Council of Maritime Transport Unions and Associations (COMTUA) has condemned in strong terms the purported plan by the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN to shut the Lagos ports over extortion and arrests of trucks by official of the Lagos State Committee on Removal of Abandoned Vehicles and the Special Traffic Management Committee and Enforcement Team.

A statement issued and signed by Adeyinka Aroyewun,  National President of COMTUA stated that COMTUA was against such actions and plans.

The statement reads in part:

“We wish to use this medium to notify the general public that we condemn in clear terms the reckless statement credited to the Trio of MWUN, NARTO, and AMATO proposing to shut down the port on Wednesday, 26th February, 2025”

“It is disheartening to read that this group, which is actually responsible for the traffic on the port access road through their illegal passing of trucks against the time belt in connivance with some officials of the Nigerian Ports Authority, is planning an illegal shutdown of the port”

“The call-up system has never worked, and it will never work, but these groups refuse to address this but find it convenient to connive with NPA to cause artificial congestion on the port access road”

“The cause of congestion is not unknown; it’s purely the failure of the call-up operators, especially through the approval of unfunctional garages and compromised booking systems”

“Truck passing to Apapa now attracts between #200,000 and #300,000 per truck on every trip. This is in connivance with the same group of people who are proposing to shut down the port”

The COMTUA National President told Maritime Nigeria that the Ports are National Assets. He advised MWUN and it collaborators to take their issues to the Lagos state government and seek resolution instead of resorting to shutting down of the Lagos ports, an action which portends severe economic backlash,

“We have had issues with the Lagos state ministry of Transportation. We went there, tabled our matters and our trucks were released without any payment by our members” Adeyinka said.

He noted that there processes and procedures which precede any industrial action. “Has MWUN and co exhausted such channels? Aroyewun queried.