An aggrieved disengaged dock-worker in Rivers State, Mr Ilomabo Taylor, has called on the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to investigate the poor severance package paid to the disengaged workers by the NPA Severance Package Payment Committee.
The 67-year old dockworker expressed surprise that the committee was paying every disengaged worker the sum of N400,000 only irrespective of the years put in.
Mr Taylor, who is a disengaged tally clerk, told The Tide in Port Harcourt, that he put in over 40 years in service of the NPA but was only paid N400,000 by the payment committee.
He called on the NPA to investigate the committee responsible for the payment, insisting that the amount paid to the disengaged dockworkers is unthinkable and ridiculous.
Taylor alleged that the severance package for each disengaged dockworker was about N5 million, and wondered why the amount was reduced to less than half a million naira.
He lamented that since he was disengaged from the service, he had found it difficult to cater for his family or pay rent.
“I had suffered since 2015 when I was disengaged with others; no money to pay rent, children school fees, buy medications and other  bills”, Taylor lamented.
He disclosed that five of his colleagues died before the payment due to shock “because they heard that the money was less than half a million naira”.
The Deputy Secretary General Organising, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (NWUN), Comrade Abudu Eroje, had told The Tide two weeks ago, that the Federal Government approved 400,000 only for each of the disengaged dockworkers across the country.
Eroje described the disengaged workers as concessionaire staff (contract staff)  to the NPA and admonished them to invest their severance package meaningfully.   The Tide reports that over 309 persons were earmarked to be paid in Rivers Port Complex out of a total 2,100 disengaged dockworkers across the six ports in the country.

By: Chinedu Wosu