There are strong indications that most commercial boats operating along the nation’s waterways are not insured, thereby leaving victims of boat mishaps without compensation.
Boat mishaps accounted for 350 deaths in 2020, said chairman of the Governing Council of the Hydroelectric Power Producing Area Development Commission (HYPADEC), Mr. Joseph Ityav.
Members of the Association of Tourist Boats and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON) urged the Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), George Moghalu, to make it mandatory for commercial boat operators to take up group insurance policy before they are allowed to commence operation.
Speaking at the commissioning of three patrol boats and inauguration of a task force to patrol and enforce all waterways protocol, in Lagos, a member of ATBOWATON, Chief Babatunde Francis, said group insurance would ensure that families of deceased persons get compensation.
“NIWA should ensure that, going forward, boat operators take up group insurance before they are allowed to operate. NIWA should also ensure the workability of how payments for the group insurance are to be done,” he said.
The Managing Director of NIWA, George Moghalu, said the agency was strictly enforcing boat insurance to register boat operators.
“Owners of any commercial boat must show insurance cover before any of their boats is registered. Presently, we don’t have any group insurance policy that would take care of passengers but we are working on it.”
