ATBOWATON Lagos inaugurates new executive

Association of Tourism Boats Operators and Water Transporters (ATBOWATON) Lagos branch has inaugurated new members of the executive council to run its affairs for the next three years.

Sworn in in Lagos to rebrand and restructure the association with specialised members doing business on water transportation, weekend water and breach tourism services were Alhaji Lawal Babatunde as chairman; Engineer Omowowo Repheal, deputy chairman; Oluwatobi Ogunleye, deputy chairman (II); Aworetan Ayomikun, general secretary; Babatunde Segun Joel tressurer; Ikuemola Robinson, financial secretary, and Gbenga Kungbe Stephen, auditor.

At the swearing-in- and handover ceremony in Lagos, Mr. Akim Balogun, chairman of the electoral committee and former public relations officer of the association, enjoined the new executive to take the association to the next level, considering the awareness of boat passengers on what to expect from the operators.

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Mr. Balogun noted that the association cannot afford to remain static on ideas of operation and expect different results, adding that time has come to prioritise the safety and comfort of the passengers as a catholic creed.

National President, Ganiyu Tazan Balogun donated an undisclosed amount of money to the new executive to hit the ground running and advised the new leaders to unify the entire spectrum of boat operators in Lagos, not excluding the desire to get the Lagos Waterways Authority (Laswa) and National Inland Waters Authority (NIWA) to work together in promoting the best practices on water transportation and recreation in Lagos.

Mr. Frank Meke, an associate and long time media adviser to the national body, called on the new leaders to show uncommon boat onboard services and marketing agenda. He called for a weekend boat cruise to generate public awareness on water transportation and weekend beach recreation to drive interest on outdoor, spot fishing and luxury jet ski water sports.

The agenda he advised among others would not only popularize weekend and other tourism event across Lagos but will reposition the image of the association in the minds of the public and outdoor events influencers and other service providers in insurance, beverage, telecommunication, health and security.

The chairman Alhaji Lawal Babatunde who spoke earlier, promised to provide a disciplined leadership with focus on empowering the members through training and retraining efforts. Rolling out an 18-point vision agenda, Alhaji Babatunde promised to rotate the meetings of the Lagos body among its zonal structure in order to give all boat operators opportunity to participate and contribute to its growth.