NIWA mourns boat mishap victims, urges life jackets’ usage

The management of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has expressed grief over the death of 15 persons in a boat mishap in Mai-Adua Local Government Area of Katsina State.

The Authority in a statement signed by its Corporate Affairs Manager, Jibril Darda’u, lamented the unfortunate incident, adding that it was painful considering the fact that additional safety measures were recently put in place to forestall such mishaps.

While pledging to intensify efforts to curb such occurrences within Inland waterways, the Authority also called for strict compliance with established rules and regulations guiding passenger ferry operations in the country.

“We further wish to appeal to passengers and boat drivers to obey the rules and guidelines regulating passenger transportation. The use of life jackets; no sailing at night; the use of standard boats and not overloading the boats are key guidelines for safe passenger transportation.

“As we condole with the government and people of Katsina State and in particular, the families of the deceased, we shall not relent on our efforts to curb these occurrences within our inland waterways,” the statement read.