The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, has commissioned two patrol boats and a 32-seater passenger boat newly acquired by the Port Harcourt Area Office of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) in Port Harcourt.
The minister, who commissioned the vessels during an inspection tour of the Area Office in Port Harcourt, last Saturday, also described water transportation as key to the economic development of the country.
Sambo said the movement of goods and persons within the nation’s waterways would greatly enhance the nation’s economy since 28 states in the country can be accessed by water.
He said his office was working hard to ensure the disbursement of the carbotage shipping fund to enable Nigerian ship owners increase capacity.
Sambo also urged the managing director of the authority to bring to fruition the project initiated by the ministry in Lagos.
The minister also stressed the need to build local capacity to create access for Nigerians to be involved in the maritime business.
In his welcome address, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of National Inland Waterway Authority (NIWA), Chief George Moghalu, described the event as significant as the minister would be commissioning yet another set of newly acquired river craft to enhance the operational efficiency of the authority.
Moghalu said the ceremony was coming less than a year after the authority commissioned more than 20 patrol boats as well as a tug boat, house boat and water ambulance for distribution to various area offices of the authority.
According to him,the move was part of the authority’s vision to ensure that the nation’s inland waterways provide a truly safe, efficient, cost effective and alternative mode of transportation of goods and persons as well as become competitive and attractive.
He said the huge opportunities that abound in the nation’s inland water ways can only be maximised if concerted efforts are geared towards the development of infrastructure and proper funding to make the waterways attractive and competitive to players.
The NIWA MD said the authority was poised to continuously ensure the development of indigenous manpower as well as providing navigational aids, river training works, wreck surveys and removal establishment of river gauges, construction of jetties, capital and maintenance of dredging.
The rest areestablishment of search and rescue stations,river craft certification and training of boats drivers and crew as well as continuous safety sensitisation campaigns.
He said the sixth batch of training and certification of boat skippers by the authority was ongoing in Lagos.

By: John Bibor