By Babatunde Aremu
The Maritime workers Union of Nigeria has commended the Managing Director of National inland waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr. Bola Oyebamiji for his swift intervention to the recent Lagos Boat Mishap which led to the prompt rescue of some victims and treatment of others who sustained injuries.
This is contained in a statement issued and signed by the President General of the Union, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju.
According to the statement, Comrade Adeyanju also commended the decision of the NIWA Boss to hold those linked to negligence of duty accountable to serve as deterrent to others.
He said
” We commend Mr. Oyebamiji for his vision in enhancing safety on Nigeria’s waterways.
Initiatives such as the creation of the NIWA River Marshall designed to improve on security and safety on our coastal waters are critical and should be further deepened.”
He however said much more is needed to be done to reduce accidents, improve on monitoring of boat operators, regular channelling of coastal waters, better lighting and constant removal of wrecks .
” We call on the federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy to provide NIWA with necessary resources to enforce safety regulations more effectively efficiently and ensuring that incidents like this are minimised in the future” ‘-He said