August 6, 2020
Officials of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) on Tuesday, impounded engines of six passengers’ boat operators for allegedly violating the state government laws on water transportation.
LASWA took the decisive step to forestall the increasing cases of boat accident along the inner waters, which have claimed lots of lives.
The LASWA General Manager, Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, confirmed this in Lagos, in a statement by Mrs. Nkechi Ajayi, the Public Affairs Officer of LASWA, saying the move was in furtherance of renewed efforts to sanitise waterways and prevent boat accidents.
The LASWA GM expressed the Authority’s commitment to continually ensure the safety of ferry passengers in the state.
He said the arrest of erring boat operators was part of the authority’s efforts in the ongoing enforcement and monitoring exercise across the inland waterways.
He said: “The patrol team of Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) earlier today seized a total number of six boat engines belonging to commercial ferry operators that were caught flouting safety regulations on the waterways.
“Their offences include: not wearing life jackets, overloading, reckless driving, among other offences which could have resulted in preventable fatalities when accidents occur,” the LASWA boss said.
Speaking on the Enforcement effort of the Authority, he said officials of LASWA covered Mile 2, Kirirkiri, Abule Osun Jetty, Alex Jetty, Liverpool, Ebute-Ojo all in the Ojo axis of Lagos.
Emmanuel reassured that the authority would no longer condone any action that would be against the safety standards of the state inland waterways.
“Any erring operator will be sanctioned appropriately,” the general manager said.
According to him, the authority will work harder on boat captains and deckhands while continuing sensitisation, awareness and enlightenment to foster safety on waterways
It would be recalled that there have been reports of accidents on waterways in Lagos in recent times, with the latest, being July 29, which claimed more than 10 lives.