The Lagos State Government has reiterated its commitment to continue in its drive to ensure safety on the waterways and urged strict compliance to usage of life jackets.
Mr Yinka Marinho, the General Manager, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) spoke at a news conference in Ikeja.
He spoke on the boat mishap which occurred in Ebute- Ojo waterways in Ojo Local Government area of the state last Wednesday.
The Lagos State Government has reiterated its commitment to continue in its drive to ensure safety on the waterways and urged strict compliance to usage of life jackets.
Mr Yinka Marinho, the General Manager, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) spoke at a news conference in Ikeja.
He spoke on the boat mishap which occurred in Ebute- Ojo waterways in Ojo Local Government area of the state last Wednesday.
Marinho expressed worry over people's refusal to wear their life jackets when on water despite the state government's efforts to forestall incidents on its waterways.
Six pupils on their way to school drowned when a canoe they boarded from Ojo to Irawe jetty capsized after colliding with a boat.
Eight other pupils and the driver were rescued.
"The problem here is that we have issues about people not wearing life vests," Marinho said.
He said that the incident occurred despite government’s increasing efforts to make the waterways safe for residents, describing it as unfortunate
The general manager said that the state government in its safety awareness programme, had, in the last three years, distributed 3,500 life jackets in riverine communities from Badagry to Epe area.
"In that particular area, as of May 8, 2014, Irewe got 360 life jackets," he said.
Explaining how the incident occurred, Marinho said a motorised speed boat which developed fault midwater attempted to fix the problem while the boat was still in motion and thereby had a head on collision with the fibre boat conveying the pupils.
“We got the distress call by 8.30a.m that an incident had occurred.
"We immediately sent our patrol boat to the area.
"When we got there, we immediately tried to rescue those who were involved with the help of the local fishermen there.
"We rescued eight of the passengers, but this morning, the six that were missing have been found; unfortunately, none survived," he said.
Marinho, however, said the captain of the speed boat had been arrested and would be prosecuted accordingly.
He however regretted that despite the provision of life jackets to boat operators in the Ebute Ojo area where the incident occurred, none of the passengers on board wore life jackets.
The general manager said plans were underway to distribute another 2,400 life jackets within the next few months.
He called on the boat operators to insist on passengers wearing life jackets if they must board their boats.
Marinho said the state government had put in place adequate safety measures to guide the use of its waterways.
According to him, the waterways, in most cases, are shut intermittently during bad weather to forestall any mishap.
Also speaking, Dr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), said the swift response of the state emergency response team ensured that eight persons were rescued alive.
“Our response was swift, prompt and effective.
He appealed to residents to adhere to the rules and regulations for the use of waterways, saying it was for their safety.
He appealed to residents to adhere to the rules and regulations for the use of waterways, saying it was for their safety.
“Our people need to abide to these rules because safety of lives and property is paramount to this administration," he said.
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