It took the efforts of local fishermen and villagers paddling canoes and eventually a rescue boat belonging to the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to tow the capsized boat to safety.
Moments later, a bigger boat belonging to NIWA conveying the lawmakers inspecting LOT 5, covering Baro in Niger State to Jamata Bridge in Kogi State broke down twice causing panic among the legislators. The boat floated on the river for several minutes before it was also towed to safety.
A senior boat driver with NIWA, Malam Shehu Kabir Abdul, said the boat conveying the legislators developed minor problems with its plugs. The engine however started functioning again when the plugs were changed. “It is not a problem that could lead to the boat capsizing. It is normal that when the engines are switched off the boat is allowed to float on the water. They do not need to panic as nothing would have happened,” he said.
Earlier, members of the committee inspected the river port at Baro being constructed by a Chinese firm. The company stopped work due what it described as nonpayment by government. The site Engineer of the constructing firm, China Gezhouba Group Corporation Global Projects Limited, Mr. Lee told the committee members that the contract was given to his company at N3.5 billion but only N1.5 billion has so far been paid.
Mr. Lee lamented that N999 million was voted for the company in the 2011 budget by the Federal Government but only N419 million was paid to the company, adding that “The most expensive and difficult component of river port construction is the sheets pipe which we have since imported. Construction work has stopped due to non payment by government. As soon as payment is made, we shall proceed with the work.”
Chairman of the committee, Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwonugi, however, expressed dissatisfaction over the inability of the company to continue with the construction work despite the non payment by the federal government.
After a two hour sail of LOT 5 of the river Niger covering Baro in Niger state to Jamata in Kogi state, members of the committee said they were not satisfied with the dredging work because, according to them, the water level of the river in some areas was too low to the extent that the boat engines were touching the sand.
But the General Manager Engineering of NIWA explained that the full length of the lower river Niger covering Baro in Niger state to Warri in Delta state is fully dredged twice during both the capital and first year maintenance dredging, adding, “The problem of the low level of the water in the river which the members were complaining was due to the dry season. The water level in the river is low and there is nothing anybody can do. You know, dredging is technical. When you are in the system you will know that the water level in a river like this goes down during the dry season,” he said.
The inspection of the river Niger dredging project was prompted by a resolution of the House of Representatives following a motion by Alhaji Ibrahim Ebbo, a member representing Agae/Lapai federal constituency, who alleged that two years after time-frame set for the completion of the dredging project was extended by government, work on the river has stopped completely.
But youths from Baro under the Agae/Lapai Federal Constituency of Niger state don’t agree with their representative. Speaking to Weekly Trust at Baro shortly after members of the House of Representatives committee on marine transport inspected the ongoing projects at the river port at Baro and sailed from Baro in Niger state to Jamata in Kogi state by boat, some youth leaders from Niger state, Ndagi Ahmadu, Jibrin Musa and Yabagi Kuduru said Ebbo has not been in touch with his constituency for long and could not have known the true state of the dredging project.
However, Ebbo told Weekly Trust at the end of the inspection tour that he was vindicated because the situation at the river was not very palatable.
Ebbo said “Well, I am not supposed to be seen to be pre-emptive of the position of the National Assembly, in particular, the House of Representatives. I have moved my motion and the House has referred the motion to the committee on marine transport to investigate. So, we are investigating now. So, I do not want to say anything now. But as far as I am concerned, I am being vindicated.”
Meanwhile, a traditional ruler in the area, Alhaji Mohammed Ndanusa, told the committee at Baro that about 20 youths from the community worked with the dredging company but lamented that the company constructing the inland river port at Baro had to stop work due to lack of sufficient fund from government.
