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By Kenneth Jukpor
As part of efforts to ease waterway transportation, the Minister of State for Health, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, commissioned a new jetty at the Tin Can Island/ Olodi-Apapa waterway axis in Lagos, yesterday.
The project was executed through the Ecological Fund Office (EFO), Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, and handed over to the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) for the benefit of Lagos State.
Speaking at the event, the Minister who is also a former Managing Director of NIWA, encouraged Lagos residents to embrace water transportation and handle the public property with care.
Mamora stated that the project was approved in the fourth quarter of 2018 with the aim of addressing the menace of pollution and siltation which has been a major problem hampering water transportation in some of the ferry routes in Lagos state.
According to him, this intervention by the Federal Government on the construction of the Jetty would bring about a huge relief and assuage the fear of erosion and other ecological challenges in the Tin Can area.
His words: “NIWA had identified the CMS/MILE 2 as the busiest route of ferry services, but for the high pollution rate, Flooding along the river banks as well as siltation along the ferry channel. These challenges have negatively affected ferry services as marine litters and the shallow channels have made service operators to avoid these ferry routes”
“The dream however is to resuscitate, upgrade existing jetties and make the ferry route operational through the removal of silt and solid wastes along the ferry channels which of course is in line with international best practices”
“It was estimated that about an average of six million commuters transit from the Lagos mainland to Lagos island daily, Which equally takes travel time of about three hours, whereas, ferry transportation through the Inland Waterways will take thirty minutes to reach the destination. and these means of transportation will equally take take off about two million commuters from the Lagos gridlock. I feel honoured with this invitation as the Special Guest of Honour because the project is dear to the people of Lagos state.”
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of NIWA, Dr. George Moghalu noted that the Iko community are the major beneficiary of this project by the Federal Government.
Addressing the community leaders who graced the commissioning, Moghalu said “I want to appeal to you to please see this project as your project, manage it, protect it, because one thing we have noticed is that despite the limited resources available to government, it develops project but people disregard and mismanage them, at the end of the day turn back to blame the government
“We have received enough support from the government of the day, so it is the desire of government to make water transportation, particularly inland water transportation a means of choice for movement of goods and services”
In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of Ecological Fund Office (EFO), Dr Habiba Lawal said the Federal Government received a lot of requests regarding the need and desirability of embarking on the project as a result of imminent danger posed by the devastating recurring erosion and flooding that have being threatening the lives and property of these Communities.
He said the risk of shoreline erosion and its negative consequences necessitated the prompt intervention of the Federal Government in effecting a holistic approach to the control and flooding that would stand the test of time and address the issue of shoreline erosion menace caused by high ocean current/tidal waves over the years.
