President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over what he called “tragic boat accident” in Bagwai Local Government Area of Kano State in which 29 deaths have been reported.
The President, in a statement issued by his media aide, Garba Shehu, assured the state government of the support of all federal agencies in the state, as rescue operation continues.
He sympathised with people and the government of Kano state over the tragic incident.
“As efforts are being made to rescue the passengers still unaccounted for, I join fellow citizens in praying for the repose of those lost, and for safety and well-being of all the others,” the President said.
In another condolence message on Wednesday, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said the death of scores of passengers in the boat mishap on Tuesday was a tragedy of colossal proportion and called for proactive safety measures for river transportation across the country.
He expressed sadness over the tragedy involving some adults and pupils of Madinatu Islamiya School from Badau village who were on their way to take part in Maulud celebration marking the birthday of Prophet Mohammed (SAW).
According to him, a tragedy of this immense proportion is more than unfortunate and that the incident demands urgent review of safety standards in the country’s river transportation.
The Wazirin Adamawa said he was deeply worried about the fact that this wasn’t the first incident in the country and that these frequent incidents of large scale deaths caused by boat mishaps was not only embarrassing, but should also be urgently addressed.
He also expressed concern about lack adherence to safety standards such as overloading or lack of safety equipment like life jackets to minimise death in the event of accidents.
