Flooding: Dredge Rivers, Calabar, Warri Ports, MWUN Urges FG

Following the rising flood in some communities in the Country, the leadership of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has called on  Federal Government to dredge  Rivers, Calabar, and Warri Ports to check the menace.
MWUN said the dredging  of the ports, if timely done, would forestall the dreaded flooding currently witnessed in Lokoja, Delta, Rivers, Yenagoa and Kogi States
President General, MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, made the call during a courtesy visit on the Minister of Transportation, Mr Mu’azu Jaji Sambo.
“My visit is to congratulate the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, on his appointment and discuss some important matters bothering the Association and the need to dredge the ports.
He urged the Minister to support the Director General of Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, on the need for urgent issuance of Seafarers’ Identification Documents (SID).
Adeyanju said the issuance would checkmate the influx of quacks into the sensitive areas of the industry.
“I want to use the occasion to call on NIMASA to speed up the process of issuance of Biometric Identity Cards to dock workers and S.I.D to Seafarers.
“This will checkmate the influx of unauthorised persons at the ports,” he said.
Earlier, the Minister said the Federal Government has identified the nation’s maritime workforce as a critical factor to stable and rapid economic development, which must continuously be encouraged.
He noted that the workers were vital, not only to the maritime industry, but to the Nigerian economy as a whole, saying that he was conscious that his tenure was short, but would ensure that with the support, advice and stakeholders’ guidance, it will leave legacy projects before May 29, 2023.
“If we deliver on our promises before the end of this administration, we will have left some legacies for Nigerians. On the other hand, those we didn’t achieve will be a foundation for others to build on,” Sambo said.
He told the Union that he is an inseparable part of the maritime industry, having started his public service career with the Nigerian Ports Authority.
“Sheer providence has brought me back to the sector, hence I have no reason to tell Nigerians that I recorded not a single achievement while at the helm of affairs in the Transportation Ministry,” he said.