The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has reaffirmed its commitment to reactivating the 2023 transportation codes. This initiative aims to ensure that there are more River Marshals at every waterfront for coordination and enforcement. Additionally, NIWA intends to have a manifest and life jackets available at all loading points.
This means that anyone wishing to travel on the waterways must register in the manifest for record-keeping purposes. This will allow NIWA to identify all the passengers on board boats navigating the nation’s waterways.
NIWA made this announcement over the weekend through its Area Manager for Niger and Kwara States, Mr. Akapo Adeboye, during an interview with the Nigerian Tribune. The discussion was prompted by a recent boat mishap in Dambo Ebuchi, Kogi State.
The unfortunate incident involved a boat driver who loaded approximately 500 bags of paddy rice and several passengers aboard the boat around 3 a.m. in Kuppa Ebbe, another riverine community in Kogi State.
The boat was en route to a Friday morning market in Katcha Local Government Area of Niger State when it collided with submerged logs, leading to the accident on the early morning of Friday, November 29, 2024.
This tragic mishap resulted in the loss of numerous lives, though the exact number was not confirmed at the time of this report on Monday. Additionally, the entire cargo of paddy rice, valued at several million Naira and intended for sale at the Katcha market, was reportedly swept away in the accident.
Mr. Adeboye emphasized that the activation of NIWA’s transportation codes and the introduction of passenger manifests are not intended to generate revenue from travelers.
Instead, these measures are for safety and record-keeping purposes. NIWA will provide travelers with life jackets at boarding points, which will be collected by River Marshals upon disembarkation at their respective destinations.
According to Adeboye , “At the activation of the 2023 NIWA’s transportation Codes, very soon “where we need to penalize , we penalized and we are working strictly with the Marine Police alongside our own River Marshals across the waterfronts in order to bring all these incessant deaths under control and that as much as possible, we will seek the collaborations and the support of the State governments, Local Governments and support of the regular Police operatives to work with us in terms of enforcement because these people are not ordinary people that we can talk to because whenever we were talking to them, they will tell you that they can swim or that they can do things on their own and that they have been doing things on their own for over 30-40 years”.
He stated further that NIWA Officials across the country wanted to try as much as possible to let the people know the rules or the laws,stressing that, “we also want them to know that the 2023 NIWA regulations Codes is at force and anyone caught napping will be brought to Justice or the wrath of the Law”.
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He stated further that concerning the log of woods underneath the waters at the riverine community of Dambo Ebuchi in Kogi State where the recent boat mishap had occurred, that NIWA has taken cognizance of the.problem, emphasizing that the present water level has to be allowed to go down so that they shall move it or where they (NIWA Officials) find out that they cannot move it, that they will put a “Bouy” right there so that people will know it is a danger zone .
Speaking further on the recent Boat mishap at Dambo Ebuchi riverine community in Kogi State, that following the inabilities of the boat driver to avoid running into the dangerous spot caused by some log of woods underneath the waters on the fateful morning before dawn, and against the backdrops of the fact that it was not yet day break and that there was not yet visibility on the waterways, adding that the boat driver ran into the log of woods that was responsible for the boat mishap . He stated categorically that, “the immediate cause of the accident was as a result of some log of woods under the water that has made the spot a danger zone in Dambo Ebuchi riverine community in Kogi State for quite some times now which the commercial boat driver in conjunction with the passengers on board the boat could not avoid the spot because they were traveling at about 3:am which was considered as a night journey by NIWA authorities on the fateful Friday,29th November 2024.
He stressed that it was as a result of the fact that the victims allegedly didn’t write their names in a manifest at the boarding point adding.that they also didn’t use life jackets as a part of the NIWA’s Transport codes for their own safety during the journey on the waters on the fateful early morning traveling by the victims., saying, “I want to put things in the right perspective that the Boat accident that occurred on 29th of November 2024 did not occur in Niger State, rather it was in Kogi State and the place where the Boat mishap happened is called Dambo Ebuchi Community in the waterfront and the people on board the capsized boat were all the way from Kuppa Ebbe community in Kogi State.
“And having moved all the way from their community around 3:00 am and loaded their bags of Paddy rice, and they were sitting on top of the rice and they were overwhelming, they were traveling without life jackets and without even writing their names down in a manifest, despite all the information by those of my colleagues in Kogi State Area office.
“In fact the Area Manager Kogi Area office of NIWA said there was no way they could trace some of the victims who could not swim out of the river alive nor their lifeless bodies under the water after the boat mishap because all the passengers on board the ill-fated boat the didn’t write their names in the manifest. You know that was what really happened on the 29th November 2024.
He further narrated that, “We were informed that they left the community at 3;00 am or early morning of Friday, 29th November 2024 because we were informed that Katcha market in Katcha LGA of Niger State usually come up very early in the morning on Fridays and on weekly basis and that people come there all the way from Kogi State, they come from Patigi , Lafiaji in Kwara State, they come from Lokoja the Kogi State capital and they come from Baro in Agaie Local Government Area of Niger State among other places far and near because Katcha market is a business hub and one of the waterfronts commercial nerve centres in Niger State” .
Adeboye however expressed regrets that the unfortunate Boat mishap happened because nobody had envisaged it, “but it has happened and we in the course of our on the spot assessment of the situation, one of the eye witnesses, Mr. Allah Isah Musa explained to us and showed to us some log of woods under the water and he said it has been lying there for so many years and that even where it is ,is not where people used to stay before”.
He added that some of the villagers were saying 200 persons, while some others were saying 150 persons and others were saying 80 people were involved in the boat mishap, stressing. that at a point, all of them were trying to dodge the questions when we were trying to know how many people died”.
He advised the people of Kuppa Ebbe riverine community that despite the fact that the village is not in Niger State, but it’s in Kogi State where they have an Area office, in Lokoja Kogi State Area office that is overseeing them in collaboration and synergy with other organizations and relevant stakeholders to work more together and to give their people more sensitization and to speak to them in the Language they will understand which is their own native language by having some people that will interpret to them about NIWA’s 2023 transportation codes and to ensure that on the part of NIWA’s officials ensure that they have at every waterfront more River Marshals for coordination and enforcement and to ensure that at every loading points, the passengers will have our manifest and life jackets so that anyone that wants to travel on the waters from loading points across to the landing points.
He said,they must register in our manifest for record purpose for us to be able to identify all the passengers on board the boats, pointing out that the idea was not meant to collect money from the passengers or the travelers on the water transportation but for record purpose but for their safety and to make sure that NIWA supply as many as possible life jackets as and a good numbers of the life jackets.
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