Some of the key players, including Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), have consequently withdrawn their membership.
MWUN, in a letter, yesterday, to the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), and signed by the Secretary-General, Felix Akingboye, drew the attention of the chief executive to the development.
The correspondence reads in part: “I am directed to inform you, Sir, that the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has withdrawn from the Council of Maritime Transport Unions and Association (COMTUA).
“We are constrained to take our exit from the council due to the continued breach of provisions of the council’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by members, especially the NURTW.”
While listing the primary objectives of the council to include the collaboration of maritime unions and associations to stem the incessant gridlocks bedevilling the access roads to the nation’s seaports over the years, it lamented that the NURTW has continually “breached this well-stated understanding.”
Reports also had it that AMATO had withdrawn its membership of COMTUA.
Signed by Chief Remi Ogungbemi on behalf of AMATO, the association wrote: “Once again, it has got to our notice that AMATO is being mentioned, printed or paraded as a member of COMTUA. Therefore, it has become expedient for us to inform the relevant authorities and the public that there was never a time AMATO aligned with COMTUA, and will not be part of COMTUA.
“Any claim of AMATO being a member of COMTUA is false.”
