The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Lagos office, said on Wednesday that it had flagged off massive clearance of water hyacinth from Lagos water channels to enhance waterways safety.
Mrs Sarat Braimah, Lagos Area Manager of NIWA, said in a statement that the exercise would help to ease transportation and aid safety of users during the Yuletide.
According to Braimah, the project is ongoing and will cover the critical Lagos channels with high traffic of boat movements, starting with Omu creeks and Ikorodu water channels.
“Already, Omu creeks have been cleared while the Ikorodu channels will take at least a week of intense clearance activities, including waste removal and disposal of the troublesome sea weeds.
“The effort is part of the agency’s key operational responsibilities and mandate to ensure smooth and safe sailing by boat operators and other stakeholders preparatory to the Yuletide season when traffic on the waterway is expected to be high.
“We want to do what is right as we approach the Christmas holiday season with expected increase in boat transport activities.
“Incidentally, the season also heralds the return of water hyacinth around our waterways in Lagos, so the best is to clear them even though the weeds have the capacity to rebound, but we are ready to sustain a safe passage for boats operations during and even after the Yuletide,” she said.
On the same operational focus in other parts of Lagos, the area manager said that the project would be extended to Badagry and Apapa water channels.
She noted that the Ikorodu water channel was most critical for now as the weeds spread to other parts of Lagos littoral communities from this location.
“We are working round the clock to ensure this effort is sustained during this period and also the deployment of our River marshals to help keep eyes on boating operations during this period.
“It is an expensive project and very demanding, but we are equal to the task as our staff are out there daily to ensure we deliver, ” the area manager said.