It has been revealed that disagreement over revenue sharing between the Federal Government’s National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) is currently threatening the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently entered into by the two waterways regulatory agencies.
Speaking in Lagos recently during a stakeholders’ meeting, the Lagos area manager of NIWA, Mr Sarat Braimah, revealed that during a meeting with some Lagos State commissioners, she openly told the state government officials that all revenue that accrues into NIWA’s purse from waterways regulation goes straight into the Federal Government Treasury Single Account (TSA).
Braimah said: “Recently, we had a meeting with some Lagos State government officials. Present at that meeting was the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning, Commissioner for Environment, Commissioner for Transportation and the acting Commissioner for Waterfronts; and the issue of revenue sharing came up because Lagos State said it wants to develop the access roads leading to where dredging activities take place in the waterways.
“I told them that the revenue that NIWA collects from waterways regulation in Lagos State goes straight into the TSA, which is a Federation account. I had to remind them that the money that goes into the Federation account is shared to all the 36 states by the Federal Government. I told the commissioners that I cannot talk on revenue sharing because I don’t have powers to touch Federal Government money.
“I have the authority to partner the Lagos State government on development of the state’s waterways, but when it comes to touching the money that is generated by NIWA in Lagos, it’s beyond me. I told them that we shouldn’t dwell more on the issue of revenue sharing but rather focus on developing the state’s inland waterways.”
Also speaking to the Nigerian Tribune exclusively, a LASWA official who begged not to have his name in print, explained that NIWA cannot be collecting revenue from Lagos waterways and not be partaking financially in development of the same waterways.
In his words, “NIWA collects revenue from waterways related activities in Lagos, but when we call for the development of these same waterways, NIWA will tell you that it cannot touch the revenue collected, that the money has gone into TSA. We cannot continue this way. If Lagos is spending so much to ensure the state waterways are in good condition, NIWA too should do same thing. There is an MoU to that effect.”
It would be recalled that NIWA, under former Managing Director, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, had signed an MoU with the Lagos State Government to end the rift over who controls the state inland waterways.