The House of Representatives has urged the Ministry of Transportation and its Agencies to enforce safety regulations in all Waterways in Nigeria.
This is to reduce accidents in the waterways leading to loss of lives and property.
The call was contained in a motion adopted at the plenary on the need to secure the nation’s Waterways.
Presenting the motion, a member from Kaduna State, Hamisu Ibrahim said; ”While water provides a means of transportation in Nigeria, the Nigerian waterways have become dangerous in recent years.”
He said, ‘‘there were reports of over 300 fatalities from accidents on various waterways in 2020 and over 100 deaths from May to September 2021.
“On May 26, 2021, an overloaded boat carrying more than 160 passengers broke into two and sank in River Niger, leading to the death of 100 people and on 27 September, 2021 another mishap occurred in Lagos with one person confirmed dead after a boat capsized.”
Mr. Ibrahim explained that boat accidents in the Nigerian waterways were caused by overloading, lack of maintenance, over speeding, careless driving and bad weather.
“Incessant boat mishaps occurring within the country’s waterways is as a result of the violation of boating laws and regulations by operators who board excessive number of passengers in their quest to boost income,” the lawmaker added.
Adopting the motion the House expressed concern that if not check, the problem would continue to inflict hardship especially on Nigerians living in rural areas.