By Godwin Oritse

FOLLOWING the appointment of Mr. Bola Oyebimiji as Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), the agency has stepped up its campaign on secured waterways transport in Nigeria.

Oyebamiji on assumption of office signed the Performance Bond as directed by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy to deliver on its mandates to the Nigerian people in ensuring that waterways are accident free and secured for commuters.

Speaking at the sensitization programme with staff of the agency, Oyebamiji his maiden management retreat said that warned management and staff against compromising their duties and responsibilities adding that the Performance Management System (PMS) which has now replaced the hitherto Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER) has become a veritable tool to measure performance and to reward staff accordingly.
The agency boss also told staff of the agency that his agenda to reposition NIWA for excellence must not fail.
The Retreat witnessed the signing of a Performance Bond by the management staff to ensure set targets are achieved.
Recall that is a space of one year, the management of the agency has commissioned 15 boats of varying capacities and purposes, designed to enhance surveillance, safety enforcement, and emergency response on Nigeria’s inland waterways.
Notably, the commissioned fleet comprises three surveillance boats, five safety enforcement boats, a gun patrol boat, a 62-seater passenger boat as a pilot scheme to replace traditional wooden canoes, three water ambulances, and two hydrographic survey boats equipped with multi-beam echo sounders.
He explained that the recently launched Waterways Transportation Code which is expected to significantly standardize water transportation, minimize accidents, and provide a structured environment for potential investors.
He said: “After receiving my appointment letter, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy charged me to find a lasting solution to incessant accidents on the Waterways.

“In response to that charge, my team and I have already put measures in place to address that situation. The first thing we did was to ensure that the Inland Waterways Transportation Regulation (2023) for safety regulations on the inland waterways was gazetted.

“The process to have the code gazetted had been on for so many years. However, within six months, we have been able to conclude the process and the code have been launched by the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy.

“The Code will guide the operations of boat operators on the inland waterways, regulate the conduct of passengers using the waterways; and provide a framework for potential investors in water transportation. This, would no doubt help to eliminate incessant accidents on our Waterways.”

*SAFETY ON INLAND WATERWAYS
To ensure that the waterways remain safe for the movement of goods and passengers, the Authority, under the supervision of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, launched 80 Water Marshals to monitor critical loading and offloading points across different locations in the country.

This initiative, according to Oyebamiji is to reduce rate of accident on the waterways by enforcing the Transportation Code at all times, a campaign that cuts across the country. In a new wave of media campaign, NIWA has commenced aggressive safety campaigns across all loading points through its area offices using the local languages. This is in addition to the ongoing safety campaigns in national dailies, television and radio stations in the country.

INVESTMENT DRIVE
The agency in a bid to attract private investments to enhance the nation’s Blue Economy initiative, recently took a tour of the Onitsha, Warri and Port Harcourt Offices of the Authority.

Speaking during the tour, the NIWA boss called for deeper private sector participation in the blue economy initiative with a view to harnessing greater benefits for national development.
He also said that NIWA is determined to revamp the nation’s economy by consolidating on Public/Private Partnerships (PPP) initiatives.

He said: “This initiative is part of our deliberate plans to open up new opportunities to maximized full economic potentials of the nation’s waterways.

“The PPP is the way to go but we need people or investors, who have genuine intentions and purposes to enable us align with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for economic recovery.”
“I urge you to live up to expectation by working harder in revenue generation that could open rooms to better their welfare just as you must avoid indolence and laxity and I will remain committed to staff welfare.

PROSPECTS
As part of efforts to expand Nigeria’s navigable waterways, Oyebamiji charged his Area Managers to increase the number of navigable waterways that the country currently has from 3,000kilometres to 5,000km of navigable inland waterways.

Oyebamiji, the agency would licence 2,200 boats annually in Lagos and train 1,500 skippers before the end of 2024.

The NIWA boss stated that Lagos being the hub of inland waterways activities in Nigeria had already seen the deployment of five patrol boats to monitor activities on the state waterways.

“Nigeria has about 10,000km of waterways in this country, but anytime you search via Google, you would always find out that only 3,000km are navigable. I have given the Area Managers a target of increasing navigable waterways in Nigeria from 3,000km to 5,000km.

“This means that as part of the deliverables that I gave the Area Managers, NIWA has to dredge an additional 2,000km of waterways to meet the target of 5,000km of navigable inland waterways.
“On the issue of wrecks, I gave each Area Managers numbers of wrecks to remove. Lagos, being our busiest area, got a target of five wrecks to remove yearly. Again, on boat operations, I expect 2,200 boats to be licensed every year in Lagos. Also, I have charged the Lagos Area Manager to train and license 1,500 skippers every year.

“Also, another target I gave the Area Managers was tied to the number of jetties that NIWA has. I asked them to give me the number of jetties that they want to add to what they already have. In the next four years, we need to know the number of jetties that we will want to build so that by 2027, we would have said that these numbers of jetties were built during this period.

“So, all this formed part of the targets that I gave to each Area Manager during our meetings so that they can measure their performances in offices yearly. This will let everybody have a sense of direction and know what they are expected to do,” He stated