The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi yesterday urged wharf truck owners to embrace dialogue and constructive engagement in resolving disputes with the government, employers and other stakeholders, rather than resorting to confrontation.

Dingyadi, represented by the Director of Trade Union and Industrial Relations in the ministry, Amos Falonipe, gave the charge in Lagos at the inauguration of the national officers of the Amalgamated Union of Wharf Truck Owners of Nigeria.

The minister described the registration of the union as a significant achievement, but stressed that it also marked the beginning of a major responsibility to its members, government, employers and other stakeholders.

He urged the union to operate as a partner in progress, stressing that it was not established to fight the government or other stakeholders.

“We are not registered to fight anybody. We are not registered to fight our stakeholders. We are registered to work together as partners in progress.

“When there are issues, we should sit together and resolve them. We don’t want us to be fighting,” he said.

Dingyadi said the union’s legal registration provided a foundation for its credibility and effective operation, urging its leadership to conduct its affairs within the framework of Nigerian labour laws.

He reminded the newly inaugurated officers that freedom of association was guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution and charged them to familiarise themselves with the Trade Unions Act and the union’s constitution.

The minister also urged the union to strengthen its membership, maintain proper records and ensure transparency in the management of its finances.

He directed the leadership to keep proper accounts and have them audited annually, while ensuring that all expenditures conformed to the union’s constitution and relevant laws.

Dingyadi further urged the executives to conduct elections in accordance with the union’s constitution and established procedures.

Meanwhile, the National President of the union, Comrade Adeyemi Bamidele, said the union’s registration on July 27, 2026, marked the formal recognition of wharf truck owners as a legitimate collective body within Nigeria’s industrial and economic system.

Bamidele described wharf truck owners as critical players in the maritime, transport and logistics chain, noting that efficient cargo evacuation was essential to reducing congestion and economic losses.

He called for greater consultation between the government and legitimate representatives of wharf truck owners on policies affecting the sector.

“We seek partnership. We seek consultation. We seek fairness. We seek an efficient and transparent operating environment,” he said.

Bamidele pledged that the union would promote professionalism, discipline and improved working conditions while maintaining peaceful relationships with government agencies, port authorities, terminal operators and other stakeholders.

He said the union would also oppose injustice, touting and extortion, but stressed that defending members’ interests would never be an excuse for lawlessness.

“Our commitment to defending the interests of our members shall never be an excuse for lawlessness,” he said.

The inaugurated officers are Yekeen Olawale Rilwan, Deputy President; Alli Mohamed, Vice President; Prince Adeniji Olisola, General Secretary; Gbadebo Michael, Assistant General Secretary; Alhaji Awolola Saheed, Treasurer; Lawal Shina, Financial Secretary; Okelola Omogbolahan John, Publicity Secretary/Public Relations Officer; Olowokere Muyudeen, Welfare Officer; and Adeshina Saheed, Organising Secretary.