The Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) has impounded the engines of six passenger boats over an allegation that their operators violated the state government’s laws on water transportation.
LASWA said it took the step to curb increasing cases of boat accident on inner waters, which it said had claimed many lives.
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Confirming this in Lagos in a statement issued by the Authority’s Public Affairs Officer, Mrs Nkechi Ajayi, the LASWA General Manager, Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, said the step was in furtherance of renewed efforts to sanitise the waterways and prevent boat mishaps.
Emmanuel expressed the Authority’s commitment to continually ensure the safety of ferry passengers in the state.
He said, “The patrol team of the Lagos State Waterways Authority on Tuesday seized a total number of six boat engines belonging to commercial ferry operators that were caught flouting safety regulations on the waterways. Their offences included not wearing life jackets, overloading and reckless driving, which could have resulted in preventable fatalities when accidents occur.”
Emmanuel reassured passengers that the Authority would no longer condone any action that would be against the safety standards of the state inland waterways, saying, “Any erring operator will be sanctioned appropriately.”
It would be recalled there had been reports of accidents on waterways in Lagos in recent times, with the latest one happening on July 29, 2020 which claimed more than 10 lives.
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