NIWA hands over 60-seater unsinkable vessel to boat operators

Following the incessant boat mishaps that have claimed lives around the Marina-Ikorodu route, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) on Tuesday evening handed over a 60-seater boat to the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON) for operations along the volatile Ikorodu route.

The boat with two outboard engines at 350 horsepower each, is equipped with a deck above and two toilets, one for males and the other for females.

When Nigerian Tribune correspondent got to the Addax jetty on Tuesday evening, the boat was filled to the brim by workers who normally close late from work and struggle to get ferry to Ikorodu from the Marina.

Checks by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the boat was deployed on the Ikorodu route because it’s one of the strongest boats that can withstand any tide and current.

“This boat is a welfarist gesture from NIWA to the boat operators. It is not meant to compete with the boat operators, and that’s why it was handed over to ATBOWATON. Monies charged on the boat will be collected by ATBOWATON, not NIWA, and it will mainly be used for fueling. This boat will take fuel of N100,000 because of its two outboard engines.

“The boat was deployed to this Ikorodu route to stop the incessant accidents on the route. It will operate mostly in the evening when the tide and current are stronger because it can withstand any tide or current. It’s a very strong boat with a deck above to monitor the waterways from afar.

“The handing over of the boat has not been done officially, but we expect NIWA to do that anytime soon. However, due to the exigency of the issue at hand, the boat has been handed over to ATBOWATON, not yet officially, to use along the Ikorodu route so that the incessant accidents on that waterways route will stop.

“NIWA is concerned about incessant deaths along the Ikorodu waterways route, and this is why this boat was brought in to save lives. We the boat operators will be the ones operating the boat and maintaining it,” an official of ATBOWATON told the Nigerian Tribune at Addax jetty on Tuesday.