NIMASA Remains the Best Regulatory Agency in Terms of Dockworkers Welfare—-Comrade Adeyanju

​

By DAPO OLAWUNI

Immediate past President General Emeritus of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) Comrade Adewale Adeyanju has commended the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for ensuring that a good Condition of Service is put in place for Nigerian dockworkers of today.
In an interview on the sidelines of the 2025 Day of the Seafarers celebration organised by NIMASA with the theme; “Safe Ship, Safe Port” held in Lagos on Tuesday 11th November 2025, Comrade Adeyanju described NIMASA as the best regulatory agency in charge of workers welfare.
See excerpts of the interaction.

Today is Dockworkers day 2025, do you think government has done enough worth celebrating?

We the workers are like Oliver Twist. When you are born as a child and your parent dies, somebody will take care of you. When you become an orphan, somebody will take care of you.
What we are seeing today is a celebration of orphans, of the past. There was a time that we didn’t have employers taking care of us, when there was nothing like condition of service for dockworkers, it was a period that you could just be picked you by the road and become a dockworker. In the past, dockworkers were not pensionable. But today we have gotten recognition and we are now celebrated as it was, as fruitful workers that have contributed immensely to the growth of our economy, so i will tell you that, we have every reason to celebrate.

How would you describe the welfare of dockworkers in Nigeria of today?

Like I said, in the past, Nigerian dockworkers didn’t have condition of service, but today we are pensionable. I think what we need to do now is to compel the government, to focus more on our gratuity, our pensions, and our take home. When you retire from service, you shouldn’t retire as a poor worker. We want to see a situation wherebey dockworkers will be going home with something tangible like their counterpart in other climes, that’s what we are praying for now.
The way it is now, yes, we have a little bit of improvement in our welfare, though I cannot say everything is 100%.
But we need to thank the management of NIMASA, who are the ones taking good care of the dockworkers’ welfare, together with the terminal operators. If you remember in 2006, the dockworkers had lost hope when we heard that the terminal operators are coming to take over the port operations as a consignee. But to God be the glory today, together with the Nigeria Port Authority, the Nigerian Shippers Council, the DG NIMASA, and all the past DG’s of NIMASA, we have been able to put it in place the NJIC.
We currently have what we call a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the terminal operators, the union, and that of NIMASA, who happens to be the midwife, NIMASA is the one midwifing the condition of service for dockworkers. So yes, I think we need to be celebrated.
​

Would you say our ports are safe?

In recent times we’ve had accidents of dockworkers at the ports, although sometimes most of the incidents are swept under the carpet, but i want to thank the press, you guys play a very important role in terms of reporting any accidents that happens in any key apron of the port. Today there’s an element of improvement in terms of safety in the ports. It was as a result of our proactiveness, the way we handle issues with the terminal operators.
We cannot leave this thing with government alone. The terminal operators, they own the port, they own their terminals, and the safety of every worker is very important, It should be very important in their minds, that when you lost a single soul, you know how many people that are at the back of that soul that you lost.
So I can say level of accidents are reduced, but safety still needs to be more improved from all the terminal operators, not only the government. However, NIMASA needs to focus more about this safety concerns, it is very, very important. But, even in your home too, you could have domestic accidents if you are not safety conscious of what you are doing, there could be accidents.
So to me, the port is very peculiar, and the terminals are peculiar, the workers are also very peculiar in terms of managing them. Over the years, when somebody dies onboard the vessel, they don’t pay them what’s supposed to be given to them. But when I was in government as President General of MWUN, I was able to make sure that the rights of the workers are not being mortgaged by all those capitalists who doesn’t like the dockers, who doesn’t like their faces.
Today, the same dockworkers are the engine room that are making things to happen inside the port.

Sir, NIMASA is a regulatory agency of dockworkers. How would you rate NIMASA in terms of welfare of dockworkers?

I would rate them to be the best regulatory agency that have been regulating us over the years. They started very well and there’s a lot of improvement. They are doing their best.
Over the years, who was regulating the dock workers? Nobody.
​

Sir, still talking about safety, are there insurance cover for dock workers?

I believe NIMASA should intensify more efforts in making sure that all those areas are taken into account. To me, NIMASA are doing their best.

Sir, since you left office as PG of MWUN few monthsago, do you feel any nostalgia?

I didn’t make a mistake of finding a good successor at my back, I go to sleep with my two eyes. I’m okay and I’m fulfilled with the level of where I am now.