By Victor Ahiuma-Young
LAGOS —  MARITIME Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, weekend raised alarm over upsurge in arms imports into the country and other criminal activities by unscrupulous Nigerians in the midstream ahead of the general election and called on government to beam its security watch on midstream operation importers and oil companies.
President-General of MWUN, Comrade Emmanuel Anthony Nted, who expressed the union’s concerns when he spoke to journalists, accused a cross section of Nigerian security operatives of connivance and providing illegal security for the unwholesome operations.

Nted argued that the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, could not claim ignorance of the unwholesome activities of these unscrupulous importers and oil companies and urged the management of NPA to rise up to the occasion save Nigeria from the antics of these criminals.

According to him, “we are all involved in the governance of this country, because of that, as a union, if we see something wrong, we quickly alert the government and the general public as a responsible organisation.

“Now that the restiveness in the Niger Delta has subsided and 2011 general election is approaching, we are constrained to bring to the notice of the government the upsurge in arms imports into the country and other criminal activities.”

“These unwholesome activities are mostly perpetrated in the midstream, unfortunately, under the watchful eyes of some unscrupulous naval personnel. You see some of these oil companies, I do not want to mention names, the government have to check them.

Last week, members of Boko Haram, armed with AK47 rifles, attacked the Bauchi prisons and its environs, how did they get the arms? You go to Niger Delta, come to Lagos and other parts of the country, illegal arms are everywhere and in the wrong hands.

“This is part of the unwholesome activities of some of the oil companies and unscrupulous importers. In the name of oil company, one agent will off-load a vessel without recourse to due process. They do not allow dockworkers into the vessels irrespective of the law which is very clear on the issue.

“Now that elections are approaching, their activities are on the increase. We are calling on  the Federal Government to check the activities of the off-shore operators because the government granted them the licenses to operate as off-shore operators.”

The law was very clear like those vessels that carry up to 50,000 metric tones that cannot go to the main ports, then they can lightened the vessel off_shore before coming to the mainstream.

But today,  the reverse is the case and the vessel will even come and the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) will not even know that the vessel has off_loaded and go. The NPA cannot claim ignorance of what is happening. We need to alert the Government on all these happenings because of forthcoming general elections