The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy (FMM&BE), Hajiya Fatima Sugra Tabi’a Mahmood, has tasked the management of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to expand safety awareness programmes and deepen collaboration with the private sector to improve service delivery across Nigeria’s inland waterways.
Mahmood gave the charge during a meeting with NIWA management in Abuja on Tuesday, where the engagement focused on understanding the Authority’s operations and how they align with the Ministry’s mandate under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Briefing the Permanent Secretary, the Acting Managing Director of NIWA, Alhaji Yusuf Umar Girei, accompanied by members of the management team, outlined the Authority’s core mandate, vision and mission, as well as its key achievements and operational challenges. He said NIWA has been implementing initiatives with notable impact in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Girei noted that the Authority is sustaining collaboration with the private sector to ensure improved performance and greater efficiency in service delivery. According to him, such partnerships are essential to unlocking the economic potential of inland waterways while strengthening safety, navigation and infrastructure development.
Responding, Mahmood commended the NIWA team for the briefing and stressed the need to take safety awareness beyond conventional platforms. She advised the Authority to carry sensitisation campaigns to religious centres to reach a wider population of water users and operators.
She also encouraged NIWA to collaborate more with sister agencies, improve human capital development, engage the media in public enlightenment programmes, and ensure the Ministry is regularly updated on its activities and progress.
In attendance from the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy were Hajiya Kalthum Ibrahim, Director of Planning, Research and Statistics; Mr. Oyinloye Adeola Meshack, Director of Maritime Services Department; and other staff from the Office of the Permanent Secretary.
The Acting Managing Director was accompanied by Barrister Naziru Biyankare, General Manager, Legal Services; Dan’Azumi Muazu, General Manager, Planning, Research and Statistics; Engr. Dakio Horsefall, General Manager, Marine Services; Engr. Fidelis Ejike, General Manager, Engineering Services; and Surv. Henry Adimoha, General Manager, Survey Services.
