Workers beg Tinubu: Order NIMASA DG to pay eight years salaries, allowances

OVER 400 workers of the Global West Vessel Specialist Limited, GWVSL, have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to direct the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, to release the trapped funds of GWVSL, and pay them their due salaries/allowances for eight years. The workers stated that the Federal Government under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2015, discontinued the Public Private Partnership, PPP, $103 million (N16 billion) 10-year debt recovery and maritime security contract between NIMASA and GWVSL, based on faulty intelligence, urging President Tinubu to intervene and correct the injustice against them. Maintaining that the federal government’s action harshly affected them, the chair of the Working Committee of GWVSL Workers, Mr. Vincent Kemefa, in a statement, congratulating Tinubu on his emergence as President, said that Buhari’s ill-motivated action against the company, four years after ex-President Goodluck Jonathan signed the No Cure, No Pay contract in 2011 was unjustifiable.

“This injustice can only be corrected by you by directing the NIMASA director-general to release the 25 patrol vessels under their custody and reinstate the over 400 Global West workers to continue the contract.

“We are ready to still partner with NIMASA and work because most of us are jobless and living very frustrated lives because of the long period of abandonment.

“The 25 GWVSL vessels are in different locations in the country under NIMASA custody. For example, some patrol vessels are in Warri, Bayelsa, Calabar, Rivers, and Bonny Ports.

“Mr. President, it will interest you to know that critically looking at the financial record of NIMASA from 2011 to 2015 when GWVSL was in partnership with the agency, you discover NIMASA generated the highest income for the Federal Government.

“Today, the reverse is the case, hence we are appealing to you to reinstate us because we are still willing to work, and generate much money for our nation because the Nigeria Government is losing billions to oil theft in the waterways daily.

“It is sad to tell you that from 2015 to date, we have lost over 18 workers due to lack of medical attention and hunger since our entire plea to former President Buhari and NIMASA director general fell on deft ears.

“They treated us like slaves in our own country even though the court has ordered NIMASA to pay us all our salaries and allowances, unfortunately, the Buhari-led government is known for disobeying court orders. “GWVSL has 25 patrol vessels which are still under the NIMASA custody though the court dismissed the federal government’s N34 billion fraud case against our company and others,” they said. Vanguard