President, Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON), Dr Gani Tarzan Balogun, has described the boat accident in the waters of Patigi Channel of River Niger, Kwara State in which over a hundred passengers died as horrifying and sad.
Recall that a wooden boat conveying a wedding team, friends and families, about 103 persons, went down during a night sail, and few bodies have been recovered so far.
Dr Balogun, in a condolence message to the Kwara State governor, stated that the incident has once again cast a dark shadow over commercial boat services in the country, which have been accident free for a long time due to serious monitoring and compliance ecosystem by the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).
“We at ATBOWATON wish to condole with the families of the victims and the government of Kwara State. Though the boat does not belong to our registered body or any operator known to us, boating is a confraternity, and our heart goes to the late captain and owner too. “Dr Balogun explained.
Going forward, the ATBOWATON leader informed that he would mobilise the members of the association in New Bussa, Niger state, and other sister bodies to physically visit Kwara State to evaluate the development and thereafter, visit the governor of Kwara State to share ideas on how to mitigate such incidents in the nearest future.
“We shall proffer solutions, insist on obedience to extant regulations, and advise that there should be efforts to clear logs and debris out of the water ways,” he added.
“ATBOWATON frowns at night sailing. It is not only dangerous and against the law, passengers not also wearing life jackets or poorly produced ones, endangers the lives of both passengers and the captains. So, we shall see how a serious sensitisation campaign can be deployed to arrest future occurrences .DrBalogun emphasised.
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