Business
Stevedoring: FG, Association Partner To Check Quackery
The National Association of Stevedoring Companies, says it is discussing with the Federal Ministry of Transport to check quackery in stevedoring at the Nigerian ports.
The President of the association, Mr Bolaji Sunmola told newsmen in Lagos last Wednesday that the association had requested government to involve it when registering a stevedore.
He said that the request had since been forwarded to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
“We have also suggested to NIMASA, through the Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, that for any stevedoring company to be registered, NIMASA should get the association’s classified recommendations,’’ Sunmola said.
According to him, this will serve as one of the criteria for eligibility.
Sunmola said that the stevedoring industry would be sanitised when these measures were carried out.
He also urged terminal operators to engage only dockworkers registered by NIMASA, adding that the association had set a standard and would continue to maintain it for its members.
Sunmola appealed to maritime operators to always engage its members for their services.
He said that the association would focus on the retraining of its members in 2013 in line with global best practices.
“We are in the threshold of appointing three local and foreign technical training institutions to ensure that this is achieved,” he said.