By Demilade Aderibigbe
The Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) Dr George Moghalu, has said the agency is working on National Inland Waterways transportation code, which he assured would be gazetted by the Federal Government.
When fully gazetted, the code would be adopted by all littoral states and other stakeholders to standardize their operations, covering their operators, the types of watercrafts that would be deployed on the inland Waterways, and the regulations that would promote safety of lives and property.
Moghalu spoke at the second webinar organised by the Nigeria Transportation Commissioners Forum (NTCF) as part of pre-event preparations for the second National Transport Technology Conference and Exhibitions coming up in Lagos in October.
Speaking on the theme: Safety practices and enforcement in waterways and Maritime Transport: The urgency of the Now, Moghalu said NIWA is in the forefront of ensuring that the nation’s inland Waterways are navigable, safe and secured for all operators and users.
He disclosed that in the first half of 2023, over 100 water incidents on the nation’s waterways which were occasioned by negligence of operators and disregard for the regulations put in place by the agency.
According to him, though the country has about 10,000 kilometres if inland Waterways of which only 3,600 kilometres are navigable, with 26 of the 36 states of the federation linked by inland water, not all the states are deploying this natural resources and tapping it to their advantage.
Moghalu said NIWA is ready and prepared to collaborate and work with any stakeholder, especially states in developing their capacity to ensure they put in place safety practices and enforcement on their waterways.
He said NIWA is concerned about the types of vessels that operators put on the waterways to ensure that the crafts are sea worthy to guarantee the safety of lives of the users.
He said NIWA has increased the number if patrols on the waterways to prevents the escalation of incidents on the waterways, adding that in the last few years, NIWA now has 13 search and rescue stations and nine water ambulances across the country.
He singled out Lagos for its leadership role it has been playing in the sector, adding that the state’s giant strides in waterways transportation infrastructure including a command and control centre that enables you to see all activities on the waterways from the control room.
The General Manager of Lagos State Waterways Agency (LASWA), Oluwadamilola Emmanuel said Lagos State has set a template if what it wanted to see other littoral states do on the waterways.
He said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as part of his commitment to intermodal transportation has continued to invest massively in waterways transportation which had helped in boosting the capacity of waterways transportation addi g that gradually the riders count in increasing as many more passengers are beginning to take interest in waterways transportation.
He said the investment in waterways has seen a massive reduction in water incidents by about 50% in Lagos State, adding that LASWA has also increased its patrol and monitoring activities at the east/west and central axis of the state and ensuring that all operators are licenced and all crafts does not fall below the standard laid down by NIWA.
He urged all littoral states tod evelop their waterways capacity in order to give their people another alternative mode if transportation which is faster, safer and better.
In her welcome address, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Transportation Conference Forum (NTCF) Mrs Chinwe Uwaegbute said the waterway webinarz which is the second in the series, coming after the railway mode which held on August 1, was part of efforts to help deepen the understanding about the opportunities in the sector and to see how transportation can really be a catalyst to the economic development of the country.
She said the webinars are a pre-event activity that would lead to the second transportation conference and Exhibitions coming up in October in Lagos.