There are indications that Nigeria may be facing a high level of internal security breaches through alleged illegal activities of private jetty owners, even as the Federal Government has expressed worry and threatened sanction against erring jetty operators.
At a closed-door interactive forum organised for jetty operators, onshore and offshore oil companies and stevedoring companies in Lagos last week Friday, Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar expressed worry that reports of security breaches at private jetties is on the rise.
There are indications that Nigeria may be facing a high level of internal security breaches through alleged illegal activities of private jetty owners, even as the Federal Government has expressed worry and threatened sanction against erring jetty operators.
At a closed-door interactive forum organised for jetty operators, onshore and offshore oil companies and stevedoring companies in Lagos last week Friday, Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar expressed worry that reports of security breaches at private jetties is on the rise.
Umar also revealed that the ministry has been receiving series of complaints from stevedoring companies who had alleged that they are being prevented from operating at jetties approved for them.
"In the recent past, reports of security breaches at private jetties have been received and in view of the current security challenges in the country, the issue cannot be ignored" the minister stated.
He warned that jetty operators are expected to restrict their activities to the approving licenses granted to them and work in collaboration with security agencies of the federal government to ensure compliance with the laws guiding their operations.
He reiterated the determination of the federal government in streamlining activities of jetty owners, even as he warned that, "anything outside these is bound to attract suspicion and appropriate sanctions"
Continuing, Umar said that, "I need to make it clear that appointment of stevedore companies to manage dockworkers’ operations at the jetties and onshore/offshore companies is statutory and cannot be subjected to the whims and caprices of operators".
He made it clear that the essence of the interactive session is to correct the observed lapses and brainstorm on the way forward.
"It is my desire that all unresolved issues will be sorted out in the course of this interaction to ensure smooth operations at the jetties" he said.
Even though the media was deliberately shut-out of the meeting, sources hinted that jetty operators lamented that most of the stevedores assigned to them lack the requisite competence.
Speaking after the meeting, the minister told journalist that the ministry has noted the complaints and that it is going to come up with fresh guidelines that will ensure strict compliance by all parties concerned.
Also speaking with Shipping Position Daily after the meeting, President of the Association of Stevedoring Companies, Mr Bolaji Sunmola pointed out that it is statutory that stevedore must be at the jetties.
"The issue of security breaches are there, generating employment and so on, we must know what is going on at these places, it does not just suffice to have a ship berthed at the jetty and leave it to do all that they wish", he pointed out.
"Of recent you hear a case about stolen cargoes of refined products getting to one jetty, if not for the work of a stevedore, this could not have been traced, many times, arms and ammunitions have come in through all these porous jetties, our people identified this because we have the arm of tally clerks and security that does this", he alleged.
We know they have something to conceal that is why they don't want us, or can they know more that what the government wants, the jetties are like border towns that must be properly maintained" Sunmola said.
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