Labour leader calls for appointment of experts into maritime positions

With the dissolution of boards of parastatals and agencies by President Muhammadu Buhari, a labour leader and former president of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Onikolease Irabor, has called for the appointment of professionals and experts into positions into the maritime sector .

The former Deputy National President of the Nigerian Labour Congress in a chat with journalists in Benin City yesterday urged the federal government to probe the immediate past leaderships and boards of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and other bodies in the sector as he argued that the federal government has lost much revenue because of corruption in that sector.

“Any type of corruption is not allowed by law, so they should be held responsible, they should be asked to answer questions because they have diverted funds of the federal government into their pocket.

Some of them have diverted state resources to themselves “FG must bring in people with credibility into the maritime sector because it is a technical area that needs experts.

All those who stole in that sector, should be brought to book. That is why we have EFCC, that is why we have ICPC, they should be made to work and check corruption in the maritime sector. “I led the MWUN for eight years, I don’t have foreign account, I don’t have anything outside Nigeria, and we negotiated the port concessioning selflessly.

If I was corrupt, I would have asked them to give me a terminal for because Nigeria is bigger than any Nigerian. The law f the land the law of God must bring them to book.” He said the maritime sector is not a learning ground for people who are already grounded in the industry. “For instance, the man who has just left NIMASA, should not be allowed to go like that, they must look into the books and his records while he was there.

If he needs to be queried, he should be queried for the sake of NIMASA. You can see that in NPA, some people went to jail because of what they did.

Even the activities of the dissolved board should also be checked maybe some people will still go to jail from there because they were not asked to ruin that place but they diverted resources there into their pockets. “

And in bringing new people, government must look for technocrats, people who understand that sector. That sector is not learning ground where people come to learn the job; they must bring in experts and experienced people.

For instance, if professionals manage NIWA (National Inlamd Waterways Authority), the federal government I can tell you will generate huge income from there and not revenue into peoples’ pockets. The appointments that must be made, the government must look at experience”