NIWA Warns Boat Operators in Kwara and Niger to Comply with Safety Protocols or Face Arrest
As reported by Daily Post, Akapo Adeboye, Area Manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) Minna Area Office, overseeing Niger and Kwara states, has issued a strict warning to boat operators to adhere to safety protocols or face arrest by River Marshalls.
Adeboye delivered this warning during the sensitization and inauguration of River Marshalls at the Malale Waterfront in Borgu Local Government Area, Niger State. He expressed concern over the continued disregard for safety measures by water travellers, boat owners, and fishermen who fail to wear life jackets despite repeated warnings, leaving them vulnerable to accidents on the waterways.
He explained that in a bid to enforce the regulations, the authority inaugurated a 12-man river marshall, adding that the same will be done at the Patigi waterfronts in Kwara State to ensure boat owners operate by the codes, which include the use of life jackets, avoiding overloading and travelling after 6 pm, among others.
“We are inaugurating the River Marshalls at waterfronts at Malale, in Niger and Patigi, in Kwara State, to ensure good waterways usage by our people. Water users and boat owners, including fishermen, must follow the federal government rule.
“Henceforth, overloading and night sailing after 6 pm is prohibited, but from 6 am to 6 pm daily, as well, non-usage of life jackets will no longer be allowed. Our River Marshalls, alongside NIWA staff, will arrest erring boat operators, ” he warned.
He also called on communities along water banks to move to higher grounds ahead of predicted flooding to ensure safety and prevent losses.
Speaking, the Borgu Local Government chairman, Alh Suleiman Kilishi Yerima, who spoke through Vice Chairman Alh. Abdullahi Sarkin Maisamari thanked NIWA for sensitising users on waterways regulations. He, however, lamented the number of lives lost through boat mishaps at the waterfronts.
“This sensitisation is very apt because this is the peak period based on prediction to avert boat mishaps on our waterways. We will also keep talking to our people about the need to keep to safety standards,” Maisamari observed.
Similarly, the Niger State Commissioner for Transport, Hajiya Hadiza Idris Kuta, who spoke through Deputy Director Maritime Service, Alh. Abdullahi Musa stated that before now the ministry held a series of meetings with boat owners on the need for them to follow codes of operation on the waterways.
Musa further disclosed plans by the ministry to hold a meeting with relevant authorities to form a joint maritime team to supervise activities on the waterways to avert loss of lives while commending NIWA for inaugurating the water marshalls to ensure safety.
Cloud Tag: What's trending
Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.
Iyiola Oyedepo Ibrahim Kayode Adeyemi Adamu Ibrahim Sabi All Confederation Of Principals Of Secondary Schools Ilorin.Info CCB Kwara Consultative Forum Abdulkadir Akanbi-Oke Emir Of Ilorin General Hospital, Ilorin Kolo 2023 Elections 08001000100 Bamidele Adegoke Okin Malt Amule Hauwa Nuru Kamaldeen Kehinde Jimoh Saadudeen Muhammed Abdulwahab Olarewaju Issa Sanusi Abubakar National Union Of Road Transport Workers Government Girls’ Day Secondary School Pakata Shehu Jimoh Assayomo Unilorin FM Abdulrahman Iliasu Sayomi Bahago Idowu Aremu Kamaldeen Ajibade Gbenga Adebayo Jeunkunu-Malete-Bani Oniyangi Kunle Sulaiman Baba Issa Awoye Yusuf A. Usman IF-K Oba Abdulrahim UTME Kwara State Health Insurance Agency Senior Special Assistant On Student Affairs Raymond Olaitan Sardauna Of Ilorin Ayedun Kwara State Printing And Publishing Corporation Alaaya Akom Construction And Engineering Synergy Ltd Ahmad Uthman Busari Alabi Alausa Ben Duntoye CACOVID Palliatives NTA Ilorin Sulu Babaita Isiaka Ethical College KWASIEC Rihanat Ajia Bola Sagaya Voices Of Tomorrow Isapa Joseph Offorjama Aishat Sulu-Gambari Abdulganiy Abimbola Abdussalam YAKOOYO Ayo Salami Isiaka Danmeromu Toun Okewale-Sonaiya Theophilus Oyebiyi Dunmade ENetSuD NULGE Olatunde Olukoya Olokoba Muazam Nayaya Ope Saraki Albert Ogunsola Senior Staff Union Of Colleges Of Education Yunus Oniboki

