Mishaps: NIWA to commence training for boat captains, skippers

As part of the efforts to licence boat operators and curtail the numbers of mishaps on the Lagos waterways, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has reiterated its commitment to building capacity for boat captains and skippers operating in the Lagos waterways.

This was disclosed by the General Manager, Marine Operations, NIWA, Engineer Joseph Ororo at the stakeholders meeting between the agency and boat operators, held in Lagos, on Wednesday.

Ororo maintained that the training will be compulsory for the operators, even as he noted that participants at the end of the schooling would be licensed by the agency as certified captains.

According to him, NIWA with the collaborative support from an accredited institution will design a curriculum for the training of the skippers.

He said the training will be categorised into three phases, which in turn include practical and theoretical methodology.

The GM added that the training will also be extended to executive boat operators.

The General Manager said the move was necessitated against the backdrop of the poor educational background of the skippers and captains in brown waters operations adding that

He reiterated that “This training of our boat operators is long overdue. We have started it in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states but Lagos is the centre of excellence.”

Earlier, the Lagos Area Manager NIWA, Engineer Sarat Lara Braimah said that the training was centred on how to licence boat operators.

“Our boat captains will be formally licensed by NIWA. We want them to be known in their operations. We want to hold them accountable in whatever they do and what they are doing the waterways activities,” Engineer Sarat Lara Braimah explained.

She also noted that the training programme will be devoid of language barrier as all types of dialects will complement the capacity building project.

The Area Manager urged stakeholders to cooperate with NIWA to end the ravishing boat mishaps on Lagos waterways adding that carelessness on the part of the captains resulted in the accidents that occurred recently.

The stakeholders meeting had in attendance members of ATBOWATON, MWUN, officials from LAGFERRY, and the service providers in the waterways transportation ecology.

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Mishaps: NIWA to commence training for boat captains, skippers

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