Organised labour under the aegis of the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Owned Companies (SSASCGOC) Maritime Branch and the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria MWUN on Thursday, May 29, 2025, threatened to shut down port operations if officials from the Lagos State Government fail to release members of the union.
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) affiliate group issued a 12-hour notice to the state government to release the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) staff who were allegedly whisked away by Lagos State government officials at along Barracks bus stop, Apapa, Lagos.
Comrade Akinola Bodunde, President of SSASCGOC Maritime Branch, who spoke on behalf of the two unions threatened the shutdown of port operations, fingered a certain Special Senior Assistant (S.S.A) to the Governor of Lagos State on Transport, identified as Hassan Adegoke, as responsible for the unjust arrest of the two NPA workers.
He called for the immediate release of the NPA officers, adding that time was already running out as of the filing of the report.
Bodunde identified those whisked away by government officials as Comrade Fidelis Eckson, Anthony Otue, and Hayatudeen Sanusi.
He further demanded that the Special Adviser to the Governor tender an immediate apology over the action, adding that the alleged arrest of the NPA workers sends a wrong signal to the port community.
“Mr. Hassan, the SSA to the Governor of Lagos State on Transport, forcibly arrested three security officers at gunpoint while on duty along Barracks Road, Apapa, unjustly.
“The union demands the immediate release of the officers before the end of work today, or we will shut down port operations immediately,” he maintained.
Attempts to contact officials from the Lagos State government proved abortive as Mr. Sola Giwa’s contact was unreachable.
