Due to the government's refusal to address some of the issues in the sector, the Nigeria Labour Congress has threatened to shut down the nation's seaports.

This was stated by the NLC President, Joseph Ajaero, to the media on Friday in Apapa while paying Adewale Adeyanju, the president of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, a courtesy visit.

Ajaero tasked Adeyanju with giving the Federal Government a two-week deadline to review employee pay and address some industry-specific issues. He contends that the government ought to specify whose job it is to examine port concession contracts.

No one would blame the MWUN for lacking patience after two years of waiting, he continued.

"You wrote to the minister of transportation in August of 2021, and now it's August of 2023, which has already come and gone," he said. President, if it's possible, give them a deadline of two weeks starting today. If they don't, they'll call us because of how important Nigeria's maritime industry is to the continent. Nobody will work on anything that affects our employees.

"Labor has been writing since 2021 about just this issue, and it's now 2023. As the head of the NLC, I have no sympathy for anyone battling for the rights of our employees. President of the MWUN, the choice is yours. Send them a letter once you've made up your mind, then close the nation's seaport.

Ajaero charged the relevant ministries, including the labor and transportation ministries, to carry out their duties. "NLC will join you if they do not take action on this. We will perform a solidarity action for you, he continued.

Adeyanju, the president of MWUN, responded by stating, "We will be giving the Minister of Transportation a two-week deadline to come and explain who is regulating terminal operators. And if nothing is done, we will stop running the port. We appreciate you issuing the ultimatum, and I want to reaffirm that it will begin on Monday, March 6, 2023. The port will be shut down if the government doesn't respond.