Defunct NNSL:Adeyanju Secures Seafarers Pension ,29 years After Retirement

Defunct NNSL:Adeyanju Secures Seafarers Pension ,29 years After Retirement
…….. beneficiaries express gratitude as verification commences.
……..want Government to resuscitate defunct NNSL

President General MWUN Dr Adeyanju fnli addressing the press today  during the verification  of retired Seafarers at NPA playing ground,Bode Thomas ,Lagos

By Frank Odinukaeze

Twenty Nine years after defunct of the Nigerian National Shipping Line( NNSL),the President General of the Maritime Workers Union (MWUN),Dr.(Prince ) Adewale Adeyanju has brought smiles to the faces of aged retired Seafarers, following the verification exercise of the retirees preparatory to the payment of their long overdue pension benefits.
The verification exercise which commenced today ,21 May, 2024,at NPA playing ground Bode Thomas , Suru Lere is expected to last for one week ,and would be done across the states where there is seaport.

Comrade Sunday Ben,former chairman, shipping coordinating Unit ,and  two other  retired Seafarers 

Meanwhile,the beneficiaries who are mostly aged Seafarers have expressed gratitude to Dr Adeyanju for his unrelenting efforts at making this event possible,even as they expressed concerns over the defunct NNSL ,and called on the government to resucitate the national carrier.
Prince Adeyanju who was greatly elated over the verification exercise explained the reason for today’s excercose
He said,”We are here today to ensure that the right of the aged Seafarers be given to them
The issue has lingered before I come on board,5-6 years ago.But we want to thank the Honourable Minister of Blue Economy Oyetola Adegboyega,who has given this directive that the aged Seafarers should be verified and their rights given to them.
“Therefore,the event today,is to actually determine who are the real Seafarers.These are people who have contributed immensely to the growth of seafaring in Nigeria.We are talking about those who have served in the defunct NNSL.Some of them have died ,but the good news is that their next of kin will receive their pension, because they have already being paid gratuity before they died.”

He said the exercise is meant to capture potential beneficiaries of the pension
“This is why we are doing proper verification so that the right that belongs to each one of them is given” he said.
The PG said for now , there is no way to determine the number of the Seafarers involved until after the verification exercise, because some of them have died ,while some are still alive.
” So,it is after the verification we can now determine their number” Adeyanju said.
He assured that even those who have died Wil still get their pension through their next of kin, adding that the exercise would last for one week and would be done in all the areas in the country where there is seaport.
Asked the challenges he encountered while on this journey,he said ,” As a leader you don’t come out to tell the whole world the challenges you are encountering in doing your job.Yes,we faced a lot of challenges,either from the same people you are representing: the retired workers themselves who are fathers and who are old,we must respect them.The attitude towards them and their own attitude towards us are part of the challenges.
“Sometimes they feel we have been bought over .However ,we don’t count on that,and we don’t believe on that either.As a unionist,your duty is to protect the interests and welfare of both the living and the dead.Essentially,the challenges we faced was because it was being unduly delayed.However,we thank God ,we also thank the Minister of Blue Economy,the Managing Director of NPA,Mr Muhammed Bello- Koko,the former DG of NIMASA,Dr.Bashir Jamoh’,and the present DG,Dr Dayo Mobereola.They all contributed to the success story of the Seafarers.
” So ,what you are seeing today,is a deliberate effort of the leadership of the Maritime workers Union of Nigeria MWUN.We are going to silence those who said we don’t have any right to collect money .But today the government is saying that we have right to collect money”Adeyanju said.
He said after the verification exercise ,the Union will go into negotiations with the government to determine what would be paid to the Seafarers as pension.

” There is no way we can determine how much would be paid until the union sits down with the government” Adeyanju submitted.
In an interview with some of the beneficiaries,they expressed gratitude to God and to the leadership of the MWUN for ensuring that this comes to reality.
Comrade Abdul Iroje,deputy Secretary General organising,MWUN, said the event of today is a dream come true.
His words,”The struggle for what is happening here today,has been on since 1991,when the retirees of the defunct NNSL,went to court .Justice Atilade ruled that they should be paid pension and gratuity.However,the court order was not obeyed.
” In 1995,we went National Industrial court ,and justice Adejumo equally ruled in our favour.In 2007, some batch were paid gratuity.And the second batch was paid in 2010. Over 1700 were paid in these exercises.Nit the pension was not paid.Successive leadership of the Maritime Workers Union had worked on this project but it did not materialise until the leadership of Prince Adeyanju.”
He said Dr Adeyanju in order to achieve result,set up an in house committee to look into the issue and all the documents relating to the issue – including court rulings and judgements were rooted out,and report was written.” So it is a victory day for the Seafarers .But it is very painful that the Federal Government could not resucitate the defunct NNSL” Iroje lamented.
He added ,” Nigeria is a cargo hub for both import and export,it is indeed painful

“We have trained Seafarers locally and internationally,and they go about looking for job.And if you look at our demography,we have sufficient man power to make this country a hub for Seafarers.
” In a nutshell,we need a national shipping line.
So we give kudos to the PG Adeyanju,who during his tenure this dream came to fruition.”
He informed that there is no condition attached to the verification exercise other than that those coming for the verification should come with their discharge book ,which shows they have worked on board vessel.
Another beneficiary,Comrade Sunday Ben ,former chairman , shipping coordinating Unit,who was responsible for feeding of all Seafarers in Lagos, expressed gratitude to God that he was alive to benefit from the pension payment.

He equally thanked that President General,Dr Adeyanju for making this happen.
” I thank PG Adeyanju for this great feat”. he said.