Four bodies have been recovered from Friday’s boat mishap at the Ojo area of Lagos.

The four bodies, part of passengers in a W19 fibre boat carrying 16 passengers, were recovered at Mile 2 on Saturday.

General manager, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, told journalists that the state government had implemented many measures to reduce boat mishaps.

“Government is ready to come down hard on any operator who endangers the lives of people while operating in the sector.

“One of the boat drivers whose actions led to a boat mishap some years back was recently sentenced to life imprisonment,” Mr Emmanuel said.

He said that with the huge capital committed to water transportation, the government would not fold its arms and allow mediocrity.

The LASWA boss added that the agency had collaborated with Yamaha, manufacturer of boat engines, to reduce boat prices to enable operators to put more money into safety devices.

Area Manager, Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Sarat Braimah, said the agency would produce a transportation code to spell out the dos and don’ts on inland waterways.

“To stem this scourge, efforts have reached advanced stages to formulate standards and regulate the boat building industry.

“In the long term, some classes of boats would be phased out; certain classes of boats would be approved, and classes of rivers on which operators could function would be listed,” Ms Braimah said. 

(NAN)