By Wole   Mosadomi
Minna— Niger State government is to go tough on canoe and ferry operators that fail to enforce the usage of life jackets.

Governor Babangida Aliyu made this known while reacting to the loss of over 80 lives on the River Niger along MalaleVillage in Borgu Local Government Area of the state last week.

He directed the state Ministry of Transport to ensure full enforcement of the laws affecting water transportation.

According to him, the state Ministry of Transport would henceforth be held responsible for failure of the operators to comply with law on provision of life jackets for their passengers.

Meanwhile, only 26 bodies have been recovered and buried.

He noted that the number of lives lost in the incident would have been reduced if the laws were strictly adhered to.

Aliyu said: “When we came to power, one of the first things we started doing was to talk of lives and property of our people and we said nobody should enter a canoe or ferry without a life jacket. That is the law.”