By Joshua Yousouph
A comprehensive inland waterways clean-up initiative aimed at tackling pollution, creating employment opportunities, and unlocking Nigeria’s vast blue economy potential is set to commence following the mandate given to Parts Central Limited to provide strategic oversight and implementation support for the project.
The initiative, backed by the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), is expected to address environmental degradation across the country’s waterways while enhancing navigational safety, promoting sustainable economic activities, and attracting investment into the marine and blue economy sector.
The project, which was conceived during the administration of the immediate past Managing Director of NIWA, Asiwaju Bola Oyebamiji, is designed to address the growing environmental challenges affecting Nigeria’s inland waterways, including waste pollution, indiscriminate refuse disposal, oil spillage, and environmental degradation.
According to a statement issued by the company, the initiative will adopt a structured and sustainable approach to cleaning and restoring waterways across the country, while simultaneously creating opportunities for economic growth and community development.
The programme is expected to identify major sources of pollution, facilitate systematic waste removal, and introduce innovative waste-to-wealth solutions capable of generating employment opportunities for residents of communities located along inland waterways.
Beyond environmental restoration, the initiative is also aimed at enhancing navigational safety by removing debris and other obstacles that impede the movement of vessels and watercraft. Stakeholders believe the project will contribute significantly to safer inland water transportation while supporting the conservation of aquatic resources and strengthening Nigeria’s fisheries value chain.
The clean-up exercise is expected to align with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda for the Marine and Blue Economy sector by promoting environmental sustainability and improving the efficiency of water transportation systems across the country.
Industry observers have noted that cleaner waterways could help attract local and foreign investments into the inland water transport sector, stimulate tourism, boost commercial activities, and unlock the vast untapped opportunities within Nigeria’s blue economy.
Speaking on the planned rollout of the initiative, the Managing Director of Parts Central Limited, Henry Olaoluwa Onifade, assured Nigerians that the project would be professionally executed to deliver lasting environmental and economic benefits.
He described the initiative as a historic intervention in the management of Nigeria’s inland waterways and reaffirmed the commitment of the project team to transparency, sustainability, and measurable environmental impact.
Onifade also called on government agencies, private sector operators, host communities, environmental organisations, and other maritime stakeholders to support the programme, stressing that broad-based collaboration would be essential to its success.
He expressed confidence that sustained cooperation among stakeholders would result in cleaner, safer, and more productive inland waterways, while setting a new benchmark for environmental stewardship and waterway management in Nigeria.
