Story by Dili Utomi.
The ongoing strike action embarked upon by the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control branch is gathering more attention by the day as the effects of the withdrawal of service bite harder on businesses and other areas within Nigeria.
These affects have led the president of the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics Of Nigeria (APFFLON), Otunba Frank Ogunojemite to speak out in favour of amicable round table settlement of the misunderstanding that led to this strike action.
The APFFLON president spoke with us in a telephone interview and he noted that consignments coming in or going out of the country and that should be examined by NAFDAC officers have been unexamined causing delays and the attendant losses of man hour, creating higher costs and more loss of businesses.
It will be recalled that workers of the agency began an indefinite strike action on October 7, to demand the review of the 2024 promotion examinations as well as what seems like a plethora of other reasons.
There was this allegation that the majority of the staff were not promoted as a result of the purported “vacancy slot” from the Head of Service, even when they all qualified to be promoted.
There were some other claims that some statutory arrears and other benefits were not paid to some of the staff employed by the agency in 2022.
The union was said to have earlier signed an agreement with the government and NAFDAC management in 2022 bordering on the workers condition of service which ought to have been finalised since December 2022, but has not been finalised.
These are some of the issues raised by the Chairman of the Kaduna State Chapter of the association, Adetoboye Ayodeji when he spoke with a NAN correspondent.
Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, APFFLON president.
He had also added that “It was left for the agency’s management to call the union for negotiation in order to see actionable evidence that things would be done appropriately”.
While noting that losses of up to three hundred billion naira (₦300,000,000,000.00) has been incurred as a direct effect of this strike, Otunba Ogunojemite asks all parties to sheath their sword and seek the path of peaceful settlement of the dispute as the action is taking its toll on the economy.
In his own words, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite said “Issues that can disrupt the free flow of goods and services especially at this time of great economic and social upheavals should be nipped in the bud and all efforts at seeking actionable compromise should be adopted and executed for the benefit of all citizens”.
He wants the various shipping companies and terminal operators to bear the costs of the demurrage on goods that have been trapped in the warehouses as a direct result of this strike action so that the importers and freight forwarders who have been caught in the middle will not suffer undue losses .
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