NIWA pledges to make Nigeria’s 10,000km waterways navigably safer
Story from Rabi’atu, Lokoja
Board of Directors, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), says they will use the resources at their disposal to make the nation’s 10,000km-waterways navigable throughout the year.
The Board Chairperson, Senator Binta Masi-Garba, disclosed this at the inaugural meeting of the board at NIWA headquarters in Lokoja, the Kogi state capital.
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Masi-Garba expressed regret that though Nigeria is richly blessed with more than 10,000km waterways, only 3,800km out of it is being navigated all year round.
She noted that as a board, it’s their mandate and that of the authority to make the entire 10,000km waterways navigable all year round to provide an alternative mode of transportation for the evacuation of goods and passengers, saying that it is a big task placed on the authority, therefore, all hands must be on deck to achieve the desired goals.
The board chairperson promised to be fully committed and willing to deploy time and resources towards the attainment of the authority’s vision to establish and sustain a first class organisation managed professionally and responsibly.
According to her, the board is a neutral platform for dialogue and collaboration as well as a place to openly share ideas, experiences and discuss solutions, they will from time to time bring together stakeholders, operators and multilateral agencies and academics to discuss solutions.
She assured that as the chairperson, she would do her best to discharge her duties and work with well meaning stakeholders to create and bequeath an organisation that is better than the one we have today.
Masi-Garba said what she expected to see was a NIWA that would be flexible and adaptable to the needs of Nigerians recognised and respected locally and internationally.
She thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for finding them worthy to serve in the board.
Earlier, the chairman of NIWA, Chief George Moghalu, said the board was faced with series of challenges ranging from insufficient funding and a lack of infrastructure.
Moghalu expressed gladness that at last NIWA has a board in place and hoped that some of its challenges would be tackled.
The NIWA Boss said the management is willing to tap into the board members’ wisdom, knowledge and understanding.
He said the authority is working hard to improve its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) toward addressing the challenges, especially infrastructure such as vessels, boats and jetties most of which are locally made in PortHacourt.