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Water hyacinths: Agencies find solution to problem to ease boat navigation on inland waterways

The National
Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the Lagos State Waterways Authority
(LASWA) have concluded plans to ensure water hyacinths no longer disturb easy
navigation of boats on the Lagos inland waterways.

The agencies
disclosed this on Tuesday at a joint stakeholders meeting held with members of
the Association of Tourists Boats and Water Transportation of Nigeria
(ATBOWATON) in Ikoyi Lagos.

The Lagos
Area Manager of NIWA, Mr Muazu Sambo, while responding to some of the
operators’ call to address the challenge as a critical problem in the course of
their operation, said the agency had acquired an equipment to clear water
hyacinths.

“We have
acquired an equipment to clear water hyacinths. We will deploy it for the
purpose when the time comes,” Sambo said.

Speaking in
the same vein, the Managing Director of LASWA, Engr. Abisola Kamson, said the
state government had also acquired equipment meant for the purpose of clearing
water hyacinths.

While
confident that the effort would help ease some of the operational challenges to
the boat operators, she appealed to members of the public to also desist from
littering the water with all manner of waste.
On waterways
security, the NIWA Police Commander, Austin Baraba, said they had been
empowered with a 600 horse-power engine boat for patrols.

He said his
team had been monitoring to ensure operators worked within the specified time,
while they deal with situations of people who position themselves careless on
the boat as it moves.

A boat
operator, Ms Anne Olaide Vincent, said a number of boat mishaps resulted from
travelling late when it was already nightfall.

She advised
boat operators to desist from that act for safety purposes, and emphasized the
need to have the boat drivers properly trained.

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