The Lagos Area Office of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), on Friday gave all dredgers on the nation’s inland waterways till January 31, 2020 to obtain their permits or leave the dredging business.
NIWA’s Lagos Area Manager Engr Saraat Braimah made this known on Friday while speaking with stakeholders in the waterways business at the BCIS Garden, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
She said any operator, who do not have dredging permit, will not be allowed to dredge.
She said that community development should be one of the primary area of concern by dredgers but the case is the reverse in the sense that Obas and Chiefs from the dredging communities do not know most those dredging in their areas and that is why we want to take it up by ourselves to monitor the dredging activities that is why we are advising everyone to join the dredging association because we want to know those we are dealing with.
She asked dredging companies to stop causing wrecks and the indiscriminate laying of pipes blocking navigational ways. She also asked them to key into Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the communities they are dredging in order to promote greater understanding.
She disclosed that NIWA only recently approved the takeoff of barge transportation but expresses the worries that though still a new phenomenon in waterway transportation complaints have started trailing it with complaints trailing how containers are falling off into the waters.
She said the Barge service was introduced to reduce traffic congestion in Lagos State, adding that NIWA is only going to give permit to those who are fit for Barge operations in Lagos State.
Engr. Braimah while addressing stakeholders said, NIWA is organising a three days training for boat captains and crew which will be begin on December 6th, at sea school and urged everyone who has a water craft or operating in the nation’s maritime sector to partake in the well packaged training as lecturers of the training will be drawn from all the major languages of Nigeria. She added that certificates to be issued after the training will be used to register boats from next year.
She also mandated dredgers to have water sediment pot where all the waters will be channeled to so as it will not split everywhere in the communities. She also reiterated earlier ban on all nightb travels on the waterways.
She equally addressed the issue of insurance by boat operators adding that NIWA will no longer take it lightly with any boat operator who fails to insure their boats or water crafts.
Some of the traditional rulers at the meeting said they expected the dredgers to know what is right and to do it as doing otherwise may be injurious even to the community and the government will always hold the obas responsible if anything happens in their domain.
They also observed that it is very wrong and dangerous for a dredging company to operate 30metres close to a living house and demanded that NIWA should be play more active role as an intermediator between the dredgers’ operations and the community.
The past President of Dredgers Association of Nigeria, Engr. Yomi Idowu who represented the President of the Association, Mr. Batare, said that NIWA should consider the economic downturn of the country and reduce dredgers charges arguing that this will tremendously increase NIWA’s revenue as more people will be attracted to the business.
The President, National Association of Tourist Boat and Water Transportation of Nigeria (ATBOWATON), Engr. Gani Tarzan, said both NIWA, dredgers and every other person operating on the waterways are brothers and for that reason, all we are saying is there should be an enabling ground for us to operate by regulators.
He said what we do today is what will speak for us tomorrow. He asked NIWA to introduce a huge waste bin on the waterways, put signage on our waterways. It should not be permit, all the time because there is no way the Federal Government can work without the state or the local governments without the communities.