By Ayobami Ife, Abeokuta
The Federal Government(FG) through the Ministry Marine and Blue Economy has distributed 1,000 life – saving jackets to tourist boat operators and water transporters in Ogun State to boost safety in the water transport subsector.
The 1,000 life – jackets which formed a part of the 3,500 pieces earmarked for the state were distributed to the water transporters under the aegis of the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON) by the Federal Government to boost safety on the Ogun waterways.
The Area Manager of Nigerian Inland Water Authority (NIWA),
Mr. Ipinmoroti Adeleye, an engineer who disclosed this on Wednesday during the distribution of the kits in Abeokuta, the state capital, urged the beneficiaries to ensure strict adherence to safety protocols by ensuring usage of the jackets by all water farers bordering their boats.
Adeleye also disclosed that no fewer than 42,000 life-saving jackets would be distributed across the nation by the FG through the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, noting that the total life-saving jackets expected to be distributed in Ogun is 3,500.
He harped on the need for ATBOWATON and other stakeholders to join hands with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu – led government and the state government in ensuring safety of operators and passengers across the water routes in Ogun.
He explained that NIWA and other water security agencies – the police, Marine police, Navy and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC) – will commence monitoring exercise soon to ensure strict adherence and safety.
“There is a regulation that has been gazetted, we call it the Inland Waterways Transportation Code of 2023, and the enforcement is already out right now, so as these you are receiving life-saving jackets, we are going out for enforcement,” he said.
The National President of ATBOWATON Chief Ganiu Sekoni Balogun and National Vice – President of the Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN), Apata Samson, commended the FG for the intervention, describing it as an affirmation of commitment to the safety of those plying the nation’s water routes.
Balogun and Samson pledged to make usage of the safety kits mandatory for passengers and boat operators across Ogun state.
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