By Joshua Yousouph
Findings by Shipping Position Daily have revealed that disengaged seafarers of the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) are now looking forward to August, 2026 for possible commencement of payment of their long-awaited entitlements, as the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) says the process has been fully verified and is now awaiting approval from the Minister of Finance.
For decades, hundreds of the ex-seafarers have awaited their severance packages following the liquidation of NNSL in 1995. While successive governments have promised to settle the entitlements, bureaucratic delays and repeated verification exercises have kept the aging ex-workers — many now in their late 60s and 70s in limbo, forcing many into poverty, illness, and untimely death.
Shipping Position Daily had in February 2025 published that the Federal Ministry of Finance is processing the claims, fueling hopes that the overdue payments will be disbursed before the end of March 2025. But this never happened.
Findings by our correspondent showed that the disengaged workers, numbering over 700, have been repeatedly invited by the leadership of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, assuring them that the Ministry of Finance had received their files and was processing the payments.
However, when contacted last week for an update on the issue, the MWUN Secretary General, Erazua Oniha, disclosed that the union has concluded its role in the verification exercise, stressing that all beneficiaries have been properly screened and validated ahead of payment.
He explained that the delay in final approval has lingered for about two to three months, noting that the union is still hopeful that the Federal Government will soon conclude the process.
“We have worked very well. They (ex-seafarers) have been verified. Now the issue is at the level of the Minister of Finance for payment. It’s been quite a while, almost like two to three months. We are still waiting for the Minister of Finance for his decision. We are praying that everything will work out soon,” Oniha said.
Findings indicate that stakeholders have repeatedly been assured that payment may commence within an “August” window, a timeline that has become a recurring reference point among affected beneficiaries and union representatives.
One of the affected ex-seafarers, Hassan Muhammed told Shipping Position Daily last week that there has been no fresh development beyond the August projection, adding that expectations have remained unchanged for months.
He noted that the prolonged waiting period has left beneficiaries uncertain, even as they continue to hold on to hopes of imminent payment.
“There’s no update for now. We are still expecting them. The union told us August late last year to this year. We have been coming along with the August. That August is where we stand now. Even if you go to them now, they’ll tell you its August. So we are still waiting to see,” he added.
Muhammed further explained that communication from local representatives has also centered on the same timeline, despite the absence of a definitive commencement date.
He also confirmed that the last verification exercise was conducted in 2024, describing it as the second round of screening carried out on the beneficiaries. “The last verification we did was the second verification. The one we did in 2024. That was the last one,” he said.
