A marine transportation expert, Saheed Adesanya, has called on the National Assembly to review the Act establishing the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to allow states to control their inland waterways.

Mr Adesanya said in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos that people died in hundreds every month in numerous and unavoidable mishaps.

“This is due to the failure of authority to efficiently regulate the activities of boat operators and enforce safety standards across jetties in the country,” he stated.

According to him, despite the ruling giving NIWA exclusive control of the waterways in the country, the authority has not been alive to its responsibility.

Mr Adesanya said, “In the first two weeks of January 2024, three accidents have been reported in the country’s inland waterways. The most recent accident occurred on January 15, when a boat carrying 100 people in Niger capsized.

“Also, on January 8, 11 people died when people in two wooden fishing boats capsized in the Bonny River in Rivers. Similarly, between January 4 and January 5, eight persons were confirmed dead in a boat accident that occurred in River Niger around Mmiata Anam in Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra.”

The marine transport expert stressed that this was aside from the thousands who lost their lives in the last five years.

Mr Adesanya added, “Unfortunately, these fatalities have been attributed to overloading, careless driving, poor maintenance of boats and non-usage of life jackets.

“All of these are failures of regulatory compliance that were not enforced by the authority.”

He urged the National Assembly to review the NIWA Act in line with the provisions on the concurrent legislative list.

“This gives the federal government and state governments shared regulatory authority over areas such as the waterways. Reviewing the NIWA Act will be a life-saver to many Nigerians as the move will give no fewer than 30 coastal states, including Lagos State, authority to regulate and control their waterways,” noted the marine transport expert.

He added, “This is to forestall avoidable mishaps through strict compliance with standard operating procedures and enforcement.

“If it can be done in the area of tax collection where both federal and states are allowed jurisdiction, why not in the area of waterways to guarantee the safety of lives and encourage water transportation across the country.”

(NAN)