NAPO Celebrates Maiden Workers’ Day, Calls for Improved Welfare of Members
The National Association of Plants Operators (NAPO) has called for improved welfare for its members as they join workers across the country to mark the 2026 Workers’ Day celebration.
President General of the Union, Harold Benstowe, made the appeal on Friday, May 1, 2026 in an interview with Kristina Reports on the sidelines of the Union’s maiden May Day celebration in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He expressed delight that the association is celebrating its first May Day as a recognised Trade Union, describing the milestone as a significant step for its members.
“NAPO, after 40 years in existence in Nigeria, have finally been approved by the Federal Government to be registered as a trade union.”
“And it has been gazetted, so NAPO’s right started from the 26th of November 2025. This is our first May Day, so we are the newest brides in town as a trade union in Nigeria”.
Benstowe, however, used the occasion to recount his alleged ordeal with the Department of State Services (DSS), claiming he was arrested at a police station at Finima in Bonny Local Government Area of the State and held incommunicado for over seven days.
“I am just enjoying my freedom after being incarcerated by the DSS after I was abducted by the Rivers State Command of SSS on the 23rd of January, the day we were to carry out our one-day warning strike against Daewoo and Saipem.”
He explained that the planned strike was as a result of the Korean company deducting taxes from NAPO members for four years without showing proofs of remitting same to the Rivers State Government account.
He called on the relevant authorities, especially, the NLC President to investigate the circumstances surrounding his detention.
The NAPO President General further alleged discrepancies in the wages of members, stating that their monthly earnings do not align with the figures recorded on official payment vouchers.
“In Bonny NLNG Train 7, in their original payment voucher, a helper is paid 11 dollars, 67 cents per hour. Check that money in eleven hours, times 26 working days and convert it to Naira.”
“It is almost 4 million Naira that a helper is being paid in NLNG train 7. But I tell you, these helpers are only seeing two hundred thousand Naira out of 4 million Naira, where is the rest of the money going?”
“And they have been working year in year out. That is why we are asking the Labour Union to step in and ask what is happening in Nigeria NLNG Train 7.”
Harold called on the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to intervene and
review the salary structure of plant operators on the Train 7 project and other construction sites.
He also urged the State Government to probe the activities of the companies operating in Bonny Kingdom, warning that Nigeria risks losing substantial revenue if urgent action is not taken.
In a related development, the Rivers State Chairman of NAPO, Monday Mbasi, expressed satisfaction that the union is now celebrating Workers’ Day as an associate affiliate of the Trade Union Congress.
Despite this progress, Mbasi lamented that members of the association continue to face unfair treatment when compared to workers in other sectors, calling for equity and recognition of their contributions to national development.
“With what is going on right now, I can say we have not been treated fairly. It is very bad that the most hired skilled people in this state have not been treated well.”
“A tricycle operator can get more than twenty thousand naira in a day but an operator that operates those caterpillars and bulldozers that can do a lot of heavy duties cannot get twenty thousand in a day”.
He expressed hope for the intervention of the Trade Union Congress and Nigeria Labour Congress in what he described as a dire situation.
