By Afolabi Oyekunle.       In a significant triumph for the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), a court has ruled in favour of the union, ordering INTELS to pay extra gratuity to 599 workers who were affected by a redundancy exercise.  The ruling comes after a prolonged legal battle, which began when INTELS initially paid redundancy extra gratuity to its 34 permanent staff but refused to negotiate with the union to pay the same amount to the contract staff. According to a statement released by the union’s Head of Media, Comrade John Kennedy Ikemefuna, on Monday, May 20, 2024, the court ruled that INTELS and AMS must negotiate with the union and pay the extra gratuity to all 599 affected workers, just as they did with their permanent staff.  The court also declared that the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) was wrong to unilaterally determine the amount workers should be paid without negotiation, which led to the trade dispute.

By Afolabi Oyekunle. The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi has assured that Customs will collaborate with the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) Post-Mortem Sub-Committee to develop strategies to boost revenue generation and enhance trade facilitation. Customs CG Adeniyi Adewale  Their joint initiative is to identify solutions to optimise revenue collection, as well as streamline trade processes, ultimately promoting economic growth and development in Nigeria. Speaking on  at the NCS Headquarters in Abuja, the Comptroller-General said that since January 2024, there has been a rise in export activities, increasing trade facilitation.

By Afolabi Oyekunle. Many questions, not yet answers about the whereabout of the NIMASA floating dock.. Stakeholders in Nigeria’s maritime industry are raising pressing questions about the whereabouts and management of the N50 billion Modular Floating Dock acquired by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). Despite promises of relocation and utilization, the floating dock remains elusive, fueling concerns about transparency and accountability within the agency.  Since February, when NIMASA announced plans to move the dock to Continental Shipyard in Apapa, the deployment has yet to occur. This delay has fueled skepticism among industry observers, who question NIMASA’s commitment to managing the multimillion-dollar asset effectively.  The acquisition was initially celebrated as a significant boost to Nigeria’s maritime infrastructure, aimed at enhancing the country’s vessel maintenance and repair capabilities.  However, promises of deployment have b...

By Afolabi Oyekunle. The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has called for retirement age of civil servants to 65years from  60 years and years of service to 40 years instead of 35years. National President of the Association Dr. Tommy Okon made the call in Lagos while speaking to newsmen during the National Executive Council meeting of the Association. He argued that at 60years many retirees are still agile, full of energy and have many things to contribute. Dr Okon said retiring them at early age makes them redundant. Speaking on the minimum wage, He said the 615 naira proposed by Labour was not too much due to cost of living. He said when doing the calculation the tariff on electricity has not been increased, which indicates that the 615naira is still not adequate. He however assured that consultations on the minimum wage is still on-going between labour and the government.   Dr. Okon also called on the government to restore the payment of gratuity to ci...