TheCable

The Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) has urged all stakeholders to ensure full compliance with the rules while navigating the waterways.

This is coming after a 20-passenger boat capsized in the Ibesha/Ikorodu area of the state on February 27, leaving three dead.

Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, LASWA general manager, made the appeal on Wednesday, while interacting with journalists in Lagos.

He said government is doing its best to improve on safety by enforcing standards without stifling operators.

Emmanuel noted that in the last two years, there has been little or no record of mishap on the waterways, while urging operators to be more diligent.

“On the recent accidents, it should be noted that in the last two years, we barely had any accident on our waterways. What exactly happened? Was it a stroke of luck or by chance? I don’t think so, ” he said.

“This is a sector that is constantly improving and being regulated, and looking at what is missing and continuing to work on it.

“Yes, a few processes might not have been in place, and for this particular incident, it might not have been put in place. But there has been some significant improvements with what the regulators are doing.”

Emmanuel said the Lagos state government has made plans to support the operators by providing new boats for them, adding that new jetties are being built.

“It is a good call from the operators and the state government already has this plan in place where the boats have already been made but they still want to make few more before starting the process of supporting operators with boats,” he added.

“It is basically the private operators that will apply for it, which is why the state government asked them to form cooperatives because the boats will not be given to individual operators.

“What the state government is then doing is to talk to the national body to see possible ways of collaboration.

“But in the interim, we are not stopping our safety functions because we owe it to the lives of our citizens to continue to ensure that all the resources the state government has invested in LASWA will continue to provide safety for the people.

“But in terms of being able to function as a regulator, it is definitely to collaborate with the national body.”