NNSL Retirees Complain Of Unpaid Entitlements

Some retired seafarers of the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) said that they had not received their entitlements in the last 17 years.
Mr Sunday Ben, the Chairman of the 2,358 disengaged seafarers, said in Lagos last week that each of them was only paid N7, 500 in 2007 as gratuity when they were prematurely disengaged from the services on the defunct national carrier.

Some retired seafarers of the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) said that they had not received their entitlements in the last 17 years.
Mr Sunday Ben, the Chairman of the 2,358 disengaged seafarers, said in Lagos last week that each of them was only paid N7, 500 in 2007 as gratuity when they were prematurely disengaged from the services on the defunct national carrier.
He said that this was a token as there were other entitlements like redundancy, liquidation and war bonus arising from the transportation of arms and ammunition as well as relief materials.
Ben said that other entitlements included children education and furniture allowances and the three-year remuneration paid to all workers of the defunct NNSL during the administration of President Obasanjo.
According to Ben, this brings the total unpaid entitlements to each of the disengaged seafarers to N63, 500,000.     
He added that a Ministerial Committee on Disengaged NNSL Seafarers conducted verification exercises in February across the country to ascertain those who did not receive their terminal benefits.
Ben, however, said that none of the seafarers had been paid till date.  
Mr Jackson Anomorisa, the spokesman for the disengaged seafarers, also said that they had taken letters about their plight to the Presidency.
“We also sent letters to the Senate, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission,” Anomorisa said.
He said that they also dispatched letters on the issue to the National Human Rights Commission and the Public Complaints Commission.
The spokesman said that they were suffering and that some had died as a result of non-payment of the entitlements.
 He alleged that when the company was liquidated in 1995, those in the management cadre were paid all their entitlements except the ratings.