The Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has lamented the falling revenue profile of the agency, especially in Lagos, a development it attributed to the feud between it and the Lagos State Government.
This was the position of agency’s Area Manager in charge of Lagos; Engineer Sambo Mauzu when he received NIWA’s Managing Director; Senator Adeleke Mamora in Lagos yesterday
He attributed the fall to the protracted face-off between the Lagos State Government through the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) and NIWA over jurisdiction over waterways in Lagos. The matter is currently in court.
According to him, since the face-off the agency’s revenue has been nose-diving. "From a mere N5.6 million in 1999, our collections had risen to a peak of N132 million in 2017, declining to N100 million in 2010, representing what I call the year of locust, the most intensive years of attrition by Lagos stage government and its agency against NIWA and its revenue", he said.
He added that “it is largely due to commitment, dedication to duty and a spirit of resilience in the face of numerous challenges that have made it possible for the area office to record quantum revenue growths over the years. Our major revenue sources are derived from use of right-of-way, dredging/reclamation, registration of water crafts/vessels and pipeline/utility crossings".
Responding, the NIWA managing director urged the Lagos Area manager to put in more efforts and justify its position as the biggest operational area of NIWA.
"You talked about your revenue profile, that at a point it went down for reasons stated and happily again it is going up. But then you pride yourselves as the largest area office, so you must justify that to whom much is given, much is expected”, he urged.
“If you are in the hub like Lagos, then this figure here you, can even afford to triple it. So please work on that, I can assure you that the more you generate the more that will be given back to you. And the right environment includes you and your colleagues here as well”, he told the manager.
Mamora however vowed to end casualisation in the agency and promised to absorb all casual staff working with the agency.
He maintained that it is unfair to keep people for long as casual staff, adding that NIWA is now in the dispensation of employing people and not casual staff.
“I think it is unfair to keep people on casual appointment for so long. The good news is that NIWA has a dispensation now to employ these people as staff. So I think such has justified their being part of this, so we should do everything possible to absorb them", he said.
Some of the jetties visited by the NIWA boss include: Ijora, Oyingbo, Osborne, Tarzan and Ikoyi jetties.
Discussion about this post