After suffering a little set back due to what its leadership called wide consultations, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has confirmed that election into its dockworkers branch would now hold on June 2, 2017 in Lagos.
Confirming this exclusively to Shipping Position Daily in a telephone chat yesterday, President General of MWUN, Comrade Abdulwaheed Adewale Adeyanju said that the number of candidates jostling for the post of the dockworkers president has reduced to two.
The union had earlier declared that about thirteen candidates were hustling to become President and without anyone willing to step down for the other, a development that has raised questions about a crisis brewing within the fold of the union.
But speaking with our correspondent yesterday, Adeyanju assured that there have been no anxiety and controversy about the election, even as he explained that dockworkers election was delayed because of logistics and the need for the union to consult more widely.
He told our correspondent that: “There is nothing like controversy in this election, what happened was that I needed to consult widely because the dockworkers election is not like any other branches, you need to consult widely, you know we have dockworkers in Port Harcourt, Akwa Ibom, Calabar and Onne, it is not a Lagos election alone, we have workers spread all over Nigerian seaports”
“The latest development now is that the dockworkers election is going to take place on the 2nd of June 2017, for now, only two candidates are gunning for the post of Presidency, the others have stepped down”
“ I may not know the names of these two yet and I don’t want to pre-empt the process, anything can still happen tomorrow, by the time they have all fulfilled all electoral requirements and submitted their forms, we would be able to know if anyone of them has decided to step down”.
Reliable sources within the union however confirmed to Shipping Position Daily that the race is between the Vice President of the Dockworkers Branch when Adeyanju was President; Comrade Johnbull and Comrade Umar Ohize who is also a top shot at the dockworkers branch.
Adeyanju confirmed the election is going to hold at the Dockworkers Branch Secretariat at Kirikiri where the union had few weeks ago held elections into its NPA Branch, Shipping Branch and Seafarers and NIWA Branch.
The MWUN President General also confirmed to Shipping Position Daily that he had just concluded a tour of various terminals in Lagos where his members are operating.
“The tour was to familiarize myself with all the terminals and stakeholders as the new PG and to appreciate all the supports they have been giving to the union”
He also used the opportunity to charge the stakeholders to improve upon the welfare of workers while assuring that brigandage, stealing and fighting is not going to be tolerated by his administration.
Discussion about this post