Reps urge NIWA to set standards for boat construction, licensing

The House of Representatives has urged National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to set standards for boat construction, licensing boat builders and conducting annual inspections to ensure sea worthiness.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by Rep. Joshua Gana (PDP-Niger) on the floor of the House in Abuja on Tuesday.

Presenting the motion, Gana said no fewer than 80 bodies had been recovered, with 74 dead, six alive and 200 still missing in the boat accident that occurred on Oct. 2 in River Niger

He noted that the victims were mostly women and children on board a wooden vessel that capsized in Mokwa.

The lawmaker said that the boat was locally made, with a capacity for 100 passengers, adding, however, that it carried no fewer than 300 people when it overturned.

Gana said that this would be the second of such major disaster in Niger as more than 100 people were killed in another boat accident 18 months ago.

He said that most of the boat disasters in Nigeria in recent years were increasingly point to regulatory failures and often attributed to overloading and poorly maintained boats.

Adopting the motion, the House urged NIWA to begin enforcement and establish training centres across the country to educate boat operators.

The House also urged the Nigerian Navy to be in charge of policing of waterways and that Coastal Guard on Nigerian waters, coastal and international waters should set up a command in the River Niger axis of the state.

The House also urged HYPERDEC and NIWA to ensure procurement of life jackets and floaters for all water passengers.

The lawmakers urged National Emergency Management Agency to give humanitarian aid and relief materials to the bereaved families in Niger and Kwara states.

The House mandated the committees on Inland Waterways and Legislative Compliance to ensure implementation of the resolutions.