The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Life jackets

  • FG distributes 1,000 life jackets in Ogun, targets 42,000 nationwide

    FG distributes 1,000 life jackets in Ogun, targets 42,000 nationwide

    The Federal Government has distributed 1,000 life-saving jackets to tourist boat operators and water transporters in Ogun State, as part of efforts to boost safety across Nigeria’s waterways.

    The distribution, carried out through the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, is part of a nationwide initiative to provide 42,000 jackets, with 3,500 earmarked for Ogun State alone.

    Speaking during the exercise in Abeokuta, the Area Manager of the Nigerian Inland Water Authority (NIWA), Engineer Ipinmoroti Adeleye, said the intervention is targeted at curbing fatalities and improving safety consciousness among waterway users.

    Read Also: Babatunde Olaogun gives back to humble beginning

    He charged the beneficiaries, operating under the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON), to ensure strict compliance with safety rules by mandating passengers and operators alike to wear the jackets.

    “There is a regulation that has been gazetted, the Inland Waterways Transportation Code of 2023, and enforcement is already out. As you are receiving these jackets, NIWA, the Marine Police, Navy and Civil Defence will begin monitoring to ensure compliance,” Adeleye stated.

  • Don’t ride on waterways without life jackets, warns agency

    It is illegal and an offence to ride any vessel on the waterways without a life jacket, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel said yesterday.

    Speaking exclusively to The Nation in his office at Falomo, Lagos, he said that was why the authority had been going round the state to distribute life jackets.

    He said although the acquisition of the item ought to be the responsibility of vessel operators, the government had been at the forefront of distributing life jackets because of its commitment to make the waterways safe for passengers.

    Emmanuel said: “We have been going round the state to distribute life jackets to boat operators. We started with distributing this most essential kit to 80 operators in Ikorodu and just last week we were at Ojo/Badagry to distribute jackets to operators.”

    He said once every operator in every division had been served, the authority could begin to enforce the laws making riding on the water routes without the jacket illegal.

    The LASWA boss said the distribution of life jackets had become a yearly event, adding that “this government is doing it to ensure that the water routes are made safe for all users.”

    He said the authority had also started the distribution of life jackets to children, noting that with this, the lives of children, “especially pupils and students who commute to and from school on boats everyday have become safer.”

    Emmanuel said besides distributing the jackets, the agency also engaged the operators and users on the right way to latch them such that it would guaranty lives and ensure that anyone who used them  rightly would remain afloat on water in case of an accident.

    He said LASWA was championing a culture whereby everyone living in riverine areas would have at least one life jacket.

    “No one should go on water or enter boat without putting on the life jacket.

    “Since accident does not announce when it will happen or where, it is advisable for anyone living in riverine areas not to attempt going out without it. Fasten the belts around the jacket and hook it very well. It is meant to protect lives. But if not properly used, it can be injurious to the user,” Emmanuel added.

    The LASWA chief said the authority would champion safe waterways, adding that the agency’s regulations, which were sacrosanct for operators, were meant to protect lives.

    He said the authority would promote safe, affordable and convenient water transportation.

    According to him, “LASWA is happy with the giant strides of the government in repositioning waterway transportation.”

  • Council boss advises residents on use of life jackets

    Council boss advises residents on use of life jackets

    Badagry Local Government Council Chairman, Mr. Olusegun Onilude, has advised residents in the riverine areas of the council to be safety conscious by availing themselves of the use of life jackets while travelling on water.

    He gave this advice during the commissioning of a 17-seater fibre speed boat and a fish smoking kiln donated to the council by the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA).

    The council boss said the council would not condone the act of non-usage of life jackets while travelling on the speed boat.

    He said:“The life jacket is a very important tool when using water transportation. God forbid, in the event of an accident, the most easily accessible tool is the life jacket, hence I urge you to make use of it regularly as a means of protecting your life in the advent of eventualities.”

    Onilude, who described the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in Lagos State as the people’s government, commended him for responding to the yearnings of the people of the Badagry Local Government Area and the state in general by providing an enabling environment for the smooth running of their economic activities.

    “In order to ensure food security in Badagry and the state in general, the state government has again deemed it fit to give out a fish smoking kiln to the fish vendors which is a very essential tool in fish processing. For the avoidance of doubt, you will see that our administration is running an all- inclusive government and no stone will be left unturned,” he said.

    Onilude, who used the occasion to drum up support for the re-election of Governor Ambode for the second term, said for his laudable achievements recorded so far in the state, the best way to show gratitude was to vote him for a second term so as to continue his developmental agenda for Badagry and the state in general.

    In her address on the occasion, Lagos State commissioner for the Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Hon. Lola Akande, said the commissioning of a 17-seater fibre speed boat and a fish smoking kiln to the local government was part of the state government’s resolve to take advantage of  natural resources in the marine environment for the growth and development of commercial activities of the people, especially women and children in the riverine areas of the local government.

    She noted that the boat was manufactured from a durable fibre glass which makes it lighter and faster on the waterways compared with the conventional wooden boats. It is equipped with safety equipment, including standard safety vests to ensure that passengers are secured in the event of any mishap.”

  • Boat operators without life jackets risk ban

    Any commercial boat operator operating without life jackets will be delisted and barred from operating water transportation services in the state.

    Managing Director Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Mr Damilola Emmanuel, stated this yesterday at the Ebute Ero Jetty, Idumota, during an emergency simulation exercise done in collaboration with the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA)

    Emmanuel said though distributing free life jackets to operators was not the state’s responsibility, yet, this year alone, it has distributed over 2,500 life jackets of all sizes to boat operators in the state.

    He said his agency would henceforth be stringent on any operator operating illegally on the state’s waterways.

    “Anyone who wants to operate on Lagos State waterways must be licensed by LASWA,” Emmanuel said.

    Emmanuel also disclosed that 10 private operators recently licenced to operate ferry services in Lagos will begin operation next year.

    The operators, he said, will compete against Lagferry which “would also be injecting new world-class ferries for passenger traffic on the waterways.”

    Emmanuel explained that these are part of initiatives to buoy passenger traffic and up confidence in water transportation.

    LASEMA General Manager Adesina Tiamiyu said the state has set up a LASEMA marine unit so as to improve the agency’s capacity on the waterways.

    Tiamiyu noted that the agency’s goal is to provide rapid response to emergencies on the waterways, and reach any location of crisis within five to 10 minutes of distress.

  • Boat operators get 200 free life jackets

    No fewer than 200 life jackets have been distributed to boat operators to boost their business and enhance waterways safety in Lagos State.

    At the ceremony held last Wednesday, at Aiyetoro, Jetty, in Epe, a riverine community, the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), said 3,500 life jackets have been distributed by the government free to boost waterways safety.

    LASWA Managing Director Mr. Yinka Marinho said 17 boat operators benefited from the exercise, adding that the gesture was in continuation of the agency’s water safety awareness, which began in 2012.

    Last year, boat operators in Badagry, Ikorodu and Ojo, Marinho said, received 300,  500 and 2,000 life jackets.

    Marinho said: “This is in continuation of our waterways safety programme which we have been doing yearly. The governor helped us to start the distribution with 2,000 life jackets when the Ebute-Ojo Terminal was opened last year.”

    Like what happens when we wear our seat belts when we drive, life jackets, LASWA chief said, also prevent hazards when we found ourselves in the water.

    “You can see by the practical demonstration that you don’t need to know how to swim, as long as you wear the life jacket, you will stay afloat.

    Marinho said the gesture was to forestall a repeat of the mishap in the area during the presidential election in which some people drowned. “It is unfortunate we had a boat mishap here (Epe) during the presidential and National Assembly elections in which four persons lost their lives.

    “So, this is to forestall cases of deaths when mishaps occur,” Marinho said.

    He said the government was still working on the safety of the waterways and that of all users of water transportation.

    He advised operators to disallow any passenger from boarding the boat, who refuses to use a life jacket.

    An operator, Mr. Anthony Agadi, thanked LASWA for the gesture saying, if the victims of the last boat mishap had used life jackets, they could have been saved.

    “We are grateful to LASWA because now our passengers would be more confident in our operations.’’

  • NIWA seizes sub-standard life jackets in Lagos

    NIWA seizes sub-standard life jackets in Lagos

    The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has seized  more than 200 sub-standard life jackets from boat operators in the Lagos area.

    Its Head of the Marine Department  Mrs  Sarat Suleiman,  said the jackets were seized because they did not meet the approved standard.

    She said: “Our mandate is to make the state’s waterways safe for all travellers and this should be more paramount to every operator and passenger.

    “As part of our efforts to sanitise waterways and make it safe, we seized no fewer than 200 fake life jackets in a single raid last week. One of the ways of ensuring water safety is the use of standard life jackets and operators have option than to comply.’’

    On what will happen to the number of fake life jackets seized, the marine officer said NIWA  usually burnt worn-out and sub-standard jackets seized during its operations every Wednesday.

    She assured that the authority will sustain the crusade against sub-standard life jackets and  warned boat operators to provide standard jackets for passengers or risk more sanctions.

    NIWA’s Area Manager, Alhaji Muazu Sambo, said the government had donated standard life jackets to operators as part of efforts to enhance safety.

    He said the authority had commenced enforcement of laws regarding the safety of waterways, urging ferry operators and passengers to comply with safety requirements.

  • Fashola orders compulsory use of life jackets

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has ordered the compulsory use of life jacket on Lagos waterways.

    Governor Fashola gave the directives on Thursday while distributing life jackets in Ebute -Ojo Jetty located in Ojo area of the state.

    He said the state government took up the responsibility of providing the life jackets to avert further loss of lives in case accidents occur on its waterway

    The governor said, “We have come here to flag- off compulsory use of life vests on our waterways. Ordinarily this should have been the responsibility of our boat operators to procure and provide as part of their services, but because we understand that many of them are small businesses struggling for survival, government has again taking the lead to provide these life vest free. We will do so gradually across all the water points of Lagos.

    “I like to appeal to all passengers whether on locally made canoes, motor boats or the more sophisticated ferries that now ply our waterways must insist that the boat operators must provide them life jackets because we are going to issue those life vests and all the operators must also insist that every passenger on their boat must wear that life vest or disembark the passenger. This is all about safety.

    “We will continue to do our best to make our waterways safe. We have started the dredging, continuous signing by lifebuoys. We have completed the dredging of this place up to Lagos Island and we have installed lifebuoys which are the navigational signs of boat operators.”