Posted on May 30, 2017
By Izuchukwu Ozoemena, Business & Maritime
The Federal Government has pledged to support the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) in her effort to acquire a bigger dredger for an all-year-round maintenance dredging of the nation’s inland channels.
Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, made the pledge when he flagged off the maintenance dredging of River Niger from Ajaokuta to Onitsha at the Julius Berger Jetty, Ajaokuta waterfront in Kogi State.
The minister commended the management of NIWA for the ingenuity of using local staff for the maintenance dredging. He promised to ensure NIWA was fully empowered to continue to carry out regular maintenance dredging with a bigger and more standardized dredger in compliance with the change mantra of the present government.
The minister queried reasons over N40 billion was committed to a contractor and N34 billion paid in the past when NIWA has the capacity to do the dredging. “You can imagine if we utilize N10 billion for NIWA to do it with its staff and they save the country N24 billion, that amount can build the road from Abaji to Lokoja”, Amaechi said.
Earlier in his welcome address, the managing director of NIWA, Boss Gida Mustapha, said the maintenance dredging project was aimed at clearing about 523,000 metric tons of dredge materials to keep the water channel navigable all year round.
“On assumption of office a few months ago”, he said, “I realized that the Authority owns a dredger which was on lease. As the need for maintenance dredging of Ajaokuta to Onitsha waterways had become imminent especially as it was affecting the conduct of businesses on our waterways, I realized that NIWA possesses the necessary manpower and technical know-how to carry on the maintenance dredging of channels as opposed to contracting the task out, incurring large expenses in the face of dwindling resources and increasing staff redundancy among others.
He disclosed that the current exercise is value-focused aimed at providing navigable channels or routes with proven economic activities.
Meanwhile, the Senate has passed the NIWA Amendment Bill. When assented to by the President, it will overhaul the operations and capacity of the authority, especially its enforcement power. It will also provide solution to most of the conflicts NIWA has with sister agencies and state governments while boosting her financial capacity and ability to embark on capital projects.
The House of Representatives recently organized a public hearing at the National Assembly, Abuja in respect to NIWA’s amended bill.
Source: Business & Maritime
