MWUN gives FG June to fix failed Tin-Can Island end of Oshodi-Apapa Expressway or…
In view of the endless rhetoric of the federal government in fixing unmotorable Tin-Can Island Port end of the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, the leadership of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), has handed down a one month ultimatum to the Federal Government and all related agencies to either use the month of June to fix the gateway or it will ground activities in the ports.
According to the President General of the union, Adewale Adeyanju, the government agreed with the union early in the year to fix the Ijora-Apapa and Oshodi-Apapa Expressway before the end of second quarter.
He observed that whereas government had started to reconstruct the Ijora-Apapa Road, MWUN expressed shock that the same government abandoned the other entry point to Apapa against its promise.
The union therefore vowed that “if nothing tangible is done on the state of the road before the end of June, the union would present new ultimatum on the strike to the Federal Government”.
“We have both signed a communiqué about the road and the government promised that by second quarter, something reasonable will be done on all the access roads leading to the nation’s seaport.
“You can go to Area B to Apapa now, the road is moving smoothly but our problem with the government is that of Tin-Can Island because nothing has been done on that road and it is part of our agreement earlier in the year.
Adeyanju further noted that MWUN is standing behind the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on the need for government to declare a state of emergency on Nigerian roads especially the Trunk A roads in the country.
According to him, “We are in line with NUPENG for government to declare a state of emergency on Nigerian roads but our position is different from theirs because they also contribute to the dilapidation of the road by their indiscriminate parking on the roads. They don’t have right to park on the road even if government repairs the road”.
Efforts to get feedback on the latest plan of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on the Tin-Can end of the port access road failed at press time, but it would be recalled that the agency had few months ago announced plans to begin selective repairs of badly damaged portions of the road pending when major reconstruction will begin as being done on the Ijora angle.
