The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) said yesterday that it has confiscated more than 200 sub-standard life jackets from boat operators in the Lagos area.
The Head of the Marine Department of NIWA, Mrs Sarat Suleiman, who made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, said that the jackets were seized on June 11.
“Our mandate is to make the state’s waterways safe for all travellers and this should be more paramount to every operator and passenger.
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) said yesterday that it has confiscated more than 200 sub-standard life jackets from boat operators in the Lagos area.
The Head of the Marine Department of NIWA, Mrs Sarat Suleiman, who made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, said that the jackets were seized on June 11.
“Our mandate is to make the state’s waterways safe for all travellers and this should be more paramount to every operator and passenger.
“As part of our efforts to sanitise waterways and make it safe, we seized no fewer than 200 fake life jackets in a single raid last week.
“One of the ways of ensuring water safety is the use of standard life jackets and operators must comply,’’ she stated.
On the number of fake life jackets seized in 2014, the marine officer said the authority usually burnt worn-out and sub-standard jackets seized during its operations every Wednesday.
While assuring that the authority would sustain the crusade against sub-standard life jackets, Suleiman warned boat operators to provide standard jackets for passengers or risk more sanctions.
The NIWA Area Manager, Alhaji Muazu Sambo, had earlier said that the government had been donating standard life jackets to operators as part of efforts to enhance safety.
Sambo said that the authority had commenced full enforcement of laws regarding the safety of waterways, advising ferry operators and passengers to comply with safety requirements.
He said that the authority’s safety compliance team had been posted to jetties to ensure that all measures necessary for safety were complied with before a boat could take off from the terminal.
The manager said that the safety team had been confiscating worn-out life jackets and sub-standard ones to ensure safety of passengers.
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