After about three months of intensive negotiations and discussions, the Management of TSE Stevedoring Nigeria Limited has finally paid N5 million compensation to the family of late Alhaji Ganiyu Aderibigbe, a dockworker who died following an accident he had while at work in Tincan Island Container Terminal (TICT) in July this year.
Speaking shortly after the presentation of Cheque to the Aderibigbe family, the Managing Director of TSE Stevedoring, Alhaji Usman Abdullahi stated that although the journey had been rough since the death of the dockworker till date, he had to thank God that they had come to the end of the trauma.
While expressing regrets that the amount given to the family would not be able to replace the man that had died, he however stated that the amount would go a long way to assure the family how sorry his company was over the incident.
According to him,”We are here to witness the payment of death benefit to somebody that died last two months and it was so unfortunate that whatever will be given will not be able to replace the life. With deep regret and deep sorrow, we are not happy because it is not a moment of joy, the journey has been tough since the time this man died till today but thank God that we have come to the end of this trauma and by God’s grace we must end it in a peaceful way”.
Abdullahi disclosed that the company was able to meet up with all the promises it made with regards to the burial of the late dockworker adding that all that went wrong leading to the death of Aderibigbe had been put in order to forestall any future occurrence.
He further revealed that although his company paid the compensation, it was in line with the agreement he signed with TICT’s Management even as he said that the TICT Management’s absence from the event was as a result of an official engagement that took them away saying that they would send the agreement to them for them to sign their own column as according to him,”they are fully involved”.
He however pointed out that his company was working tirelessly to make sure it eradicated all the aged workers as the death of Alhaji Aderibigbe had made them to realize that,”certainly, all those aged workers should go and we are working tirelessly about that to see that we eradicate all that to avoid further problem”.
On the dockworker that is hospitalized as a result if the injury he sustained in the accident, Alhaji Abdullahi said his company was working out some form of compensation for the hospitalized dockworker and that as soon as they were done, they would communicate to all concerned.
The Managing Director therefore thanked the Management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for their patience in seeing through the matter to its logical conclusion even as he thanked the leadership of the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) for playing a very vital and peaceful role towards the successful presentation of Cheque to the bereaved family.
Also speaking, the National President Dockworkers Branch of MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju recalled that the late Aderibigbe worked with TSE Stevedoring company under the TICT terminal operator at Tincan Island adding that the figure given to the bereaved family was excluding his pension, gratuity and terminal benefit which were still going to come.
On whether or not the absence of TICT Management had any implication, Comrade Adeyanju retorted,”It has because that is why you can see me looking cold because I expected them to be here as the terminal operator. Then when you are presenting a Cheque to a worker that is working under you, Stevedoring contractors, the terminal operator that engaged the person should be part of this presentation. But we are disappointed not seeing them here today.
“And I want to say Sir that we are not happy with what we are witnessing today in the sense that the representatives of the terminal are not visible at this meeting because they are trying to shift the responsibility to the head of the stevedoring company and by the agreement we signed with all terminal operators, we don’t have any business dealing with the stevedoring contractors directly but with the terminal operators. We are not happy not seeing them here today.
“And I want to say again that of the two people that have accident, it is only one that we were able to fulfill today, the other one is still at the hospital and I want to know from the Management of TSE and that of TICT what their position is on the matter because you cannot compensate one and leave one”.
While advising the next of kin to the deceased to factor in the second wife of late Alhaji Aderibigbe in sharing the money, he also appreciated the Management of NIMASA for following the dictates of the law on this matter.
Responding on behalf of the family, the son of the deceased, Mr. Musiliudeen Aderibigbe thanked NIMASA, the District Chairman of MWUN as well as the National President for standing by them in their moment of grief and throughout the process of seeking compensation for their late father.
While stating the fact that the money could not replace their father, he however posited that they would not because the money cannot makeup for their lost reject the money.
“At least, the District Chairman was there, the branch Chairman was there and the burial allowance was given to us and this is what has given us that believe that instead of going out there to employ our own personal lawyer, what they have done during the incident has given us the trust to say if we rely on them, definitely, something will come out and as you can see that at the end of the day, we were not disappointed with them. So, we thank God”, he said.
Highlight of the event was the presentation of Cheque to the bereaved family with NIMASA representatives present to witness the occasion.
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