The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NIWA

  • ‘Why passengers are scared’

    Poor state of many boats and ferries plying the waterways have been identified as reasons behind the low patronage of water transportation.

    The Lagos Area Manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr. Muazu Sanbo, gave the hint in his office at a meeting with operators and stakeholders in the water transportation business.

    Sanbo said the authority will soon put in place measures to ensure that all safety requirements are met by operators.

    He listed these measures to include compulsory operators’ permits, survey certificate of all water craft used to ply the waterways, use of manifest by all operators and compulsory certificate of competence for all captains driving water craft on the waterways.

    Sambo said all operators must obtain their permits, survey certificates as well as stickers in the next three months or face sanction which may include stopping such offending firm from operating.

    He noted that the authority has equally printed for the use of all operators a manifest which must be used by all.

    He said NIWA’s decision to print the manifest is to ensure the uniformity of the document used by all operators. He also said the advantage of operators insisting on passengers writing their names on the manifest is that it comes handy for insurance claims in case of accident, as well as serving as a source of information on all the passengers on a particular trip.

    The Area Manager said all operators must obtain their drivers’ permit from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), before the end of the year.

  • 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.

  • Inland Authority bans night boat operations

    The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has limited boat operation to 6 pm daily, directing that only qualified captains should be allowed to operate ferries.

    Its Managing Director, Hajia Inna Maryam Ciroma, gave the directive in Lagos during the agency’s “Safety and awareness campaign.”

    The agency, she said, imposed the ban because of accidents.

    She said boats and ferries would be only move between 6 a.m and 6 p.m.

    She urged owners to replace the boats that are above 10 years.

    She advised passengers to wear life jacket before boarding. “The boat operators should avoid carrying excess passengers. Any locally made boats that is above 10 years must be replaced. Only trained and certified captains should operate ferries and boats and the standard regulations allow boats and ferries to move from 6am to 6pm because it is dangerous to travel after 6pm and several accidents in Lagos were recorded after 6.pm, “ she said.

    The NIWA boss distributed life jackets, and other informative material, such as posters, flyers, T-shirts, stickers and other safety items to operators and stakeholders, saying that the agency role is to encourage them to adhere to safety rules.

    She said the donations became necessary to stem the tides of boat mishaps in Lagos State and other areas in the country.

    She urged waterway users to be safety alert and conscious by adhering strictly to NIWA regulations.

    The President, Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transport of Nigeria (ATBOWATON), Ganiyu Balogun, who received the gifts on behalf of its members, thanked the NIWA management team for the gesture.

    He said life jackets are vital for safety. He solicited for more jackets for his colleagues.

    In March, about 11.30 pm, 11 dead bodies were recovered after a boat carrying 15 passengers capsized opposite 41 Road in FESTAC Town, Lagos.

    Also, on Wednesday, April 2, eight persons were confirmed dead following a boat accident during a trip between Eko Bridge and Ikorodu in Lagos.

    In the incident, 12 persons were rescued from the boat which had 20 passengers on board.

    The Information Officer of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, confirmed to reporters that  rescue began about 8 p.m. and ended three hours later.

    He said the boat took off about 6 p.m. The incident was reported to NEMA by the boat company about 8 p.m. when rescuers swung into action.

    The NEMA spokesman said the boat took off from Ebute-Ero on the Lagos Island for Majidun, near Ikorodu but capsized midway following a collision with a rock.

    Meanwhile, the Ikorodu, Lagos boat mishap probe panel  has indicted the State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA) over the high casualty figure.

    The Olajide Tairu-led panel said the authority’s slow response to the boat operator’s distress call led to the death of eight of the 20 passengers when it capsized.

  • Fed Govt to concession jetties

    To ensure their optimal performance, the Federal Government plans to concession all its jetties to private operators next year.

    The Lagos Area Manager, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr Muhammed Sambo, told reporters that the government took the decision to boost waterways transportation and generate more revenue.

    He spoke at a sensitisation programme to attract investors into waterways transportation.

    Sambo said: “If you have more efficient facilities, it is expected that you will generate more money apart from providing comfort for users and that is the essence of the concessioning.”

    He said NIWA did not have any company in mind to take up the business, adding that the plan is to provide a level playing field for participants, especially those in the water transport business.

    The lingering face off between NIWA and the Lagos State government, he said, would not affect the jetties’ concessioning, adding that the facilities belong to the government.

    He said: “NIWA wants to provide  efficient and first class facilities that are owned by the Federal Government, therefore, I don’t see any friction that can stop it,” he stressed.

    He criticised the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LAWSA), describing it as a creation of the Lagos State House of Assembly, which purported to repeal the NIWA Act, in order for it to be in existence.

    “The question is, can a state House of Assembly repeal a federal legislation? Thus to that extent, we do not have any relationship with LASWA.

    “We are in a federation and where a law of any federal constituent is in conflict with a federal law, the state laws remain null and void.”

    Despite the face-off with the state over some facilities in the metropolis, the concession holds next year.

    He said there must be a common goal for the Federal and state governments to develop an effective water transport system.

    Lagos, he said, should obtain permit from NIWA to set up a jetty on its own Lagoon.

    “While we concede the right of the governor to express his opinion as it relates to Inland Waterways in Lagos, we wish to draw the attention of His Excellency to the fact that where he is dissatisfied with the valid Federal law establishing the national Inland Waterways Authority, especially as it concerns the authority’s function and regulatory control over rivers, creeks, lagoon and lakes, other bodies of internal waters of Nigeria, the only alternative is the court of law and not otherwise,” he said: A few weeks ago, Governor Babatunde Fashola said Lagos did not need to obtain permit from the Federal Government to operate a jetty.

    He said his administration had the right to build the Lekki bridge without recourse to the government since “we are run a federal system of government.”

  • Fashola faults waterways law

    Fashola faults waterways law

    • ‘Lagos doesn’t need permit to build bridge’

    Does the Lagos State government require a permit to build the Lekki link bridge over the lagoon or develop municipal water transportation? No, says Governor Babatunde Fashola, who described as “ridiculous” the stand of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) that the state required such permit before embarking on those measures.

    NIWA is the Federal Government agency responsible for water transportation and related matters.

    It is insisting that the state government cannot undertake such a project without its approval.

    Dismissing NIWA’s claim, Fashola said at the 13th National Council on Transportation in Lagos that his administration did not require such permit before bringing development to the people.

    “The Lekki link bridge and water transportation are projects that will benefit the people for which we don’t need to get a permit before embarking on them,” he said.

    Pointing out that his administration will go on with the construction of the bridge and may not wait for the Federal Government’s approval, he said: “I find it objectionable where NIWA asks me to come to it and obtain a permit to set up a jetty in my own lagoon; we will not stand for it.”

    Fashola said developing water transport as an alternative to road transport would create jobs and reduce transportation crisis in Lagos.

    To protect their interest and influence government policies, shippers have resolved to come under one umbrella.

    The President of Shipping Association of Lagos State, Rev. Jonathan Nicol, said fragmented pressure groups in the shipping industry had not helped shippers.

    The various groups, he said, would be united under the supervision of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), adding that such groups as Importers Association of Nigeria, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Importers and Exporters Coalition and shippers associations across the federation would fuse to speak with one voice and influence government policies. The time, he said, had come when shippers should not be left out of decision- making by the government

    “There is the need for all shippers in various organisations and associations to come together under one umbrella of NSC. We will form a very big umbrella to protect the shippers and speak with one voice,” he said. There should be no more dissenting views and that will give us credibility with the Nigeria Customs and other government agencies,” he said.

    He said the Shippers Association of Lagos State would invite all the shipping related associations for one of the biggest conferences in Lagos in the first quarter of next year to achieve the objective of speaking with one voice and clearing goods in the ports with minimal delay and cost. “We will be building up the biggest shippers association in the West African sub region,” he added.

    The association, he said, would extend its facilities to all other associations and use the mechanism of NSC to reach out to the government on policy issues relating to tariffs and the type of goods that should be imported. “We will be in a position to advise the government on some of the harsh policies that needed to be reviewed in order to promote huge flow of imports into the country,” he added.

    He said presenting the problems of individual shippers in one front would be rewarding, noting that this would usher in a new regime of cargo clearing in the sector in partnership with the Nigeria Customs as the sole government agency responsible for cargo clearance.