NIWA phases out wooden boats, deploy 350 safety marshals to end mishaps

The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) said it’s considering phasing out the use of wooden boats on Nigerian waterways to reduce and possibly end incessant boat mishaps on the nation’s inland waters which have claimed many lives.

Speaking in Lagos at the weekend during a parley with newsmen, Bola Oyebamiji, managing director of NIWA, said the Authority would be engaging Adegboyega Oyetola, minister of Marine and Blue Economy and the Presidency to give a national directive.

According to him, phasing out wooden boats will be done in the short-term, medium-term, and long-term phases to ensure inland waterways operations aren’t hampered.

Oyebamiji said in addition to unveiling the Inland Waterways Transportation Code, NIWA further increased the number of Waterways Marshals from 80 to 350 and engaged traditional and religious leaders to enforce the transportation code.

He said water marshals deployed across different loading and offloading points in the country will be in charge of carrying out 24-hour surveillance within selected locations to arrest the ugly incident of night travel and overloading.

“What happened in Gbajigbo, Niger State made us engage the Transportation Commissioners across the 24 states with navigable waterways and we had a meeting with them in Abuja.

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“Within one year, we have deployed several operational assets including 15 boats of varying capacities and uses to promote efficiency and service delivery. We have provided incentives to our workers through the official commissioning of several capital projects to promote a better working environment,” he explained.

He said NIWA reviewed its safety campaign approach to focus more on the grassroots using community resources to confront safety on the inland waterways headlong.

“Within one year, NIWA has carried out more grassroots safety campaigns than before. There is a need to increase the level of awareness and campaign within the sector,” the NIWA boss said.

While urging the media to partner with NIWA in its mission to promote safer waterways through advocacy, Oyebamiji explained that accidents on Nigerian waterways are always caused by human error.

“Poor attitude and blatant disregard for safety protocol account for the greatest cause of boat mishaps and we call on the media to educate our people on the need to be safety conscious,” he said.

Oyebamiji called on state governments with navigable waterways and private sector operators to invest in assets to promote safety.

He also urged operators and passengers to use standard life jackets and curb night travel on the nation’s waters.

“Wrecks are also one of the causes of boat accidents, but NIWA is partnering with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to address this menace,” Oyebamiji said.