Worried by the paucity of funds to address huge maritime infrastructural needs such as dredging the River Niger and River Benue, maritime experts have advised the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy to resort to the Ecological Fund.
This was one of the highpoints captured by the roundtable centered on Inland Waterways development during the technical sessions at the Ministry’s first Stakeholders’ Roundtable Engagement on Advancing Sustainable Development in Nigeria’s Marine and Blue Economy sector, on Tuesday.
While sharing this idea, a former Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Barr. Temisan Omatseye observed that the huge ecological effects of flooding in Delta, Anambra, Enugu, among other states, is sufficient grounds to access the Ecological Fund.
The Ecological Fund, which is managed by the Ecological Project Office, is meant to reduce ecological problems nationwide through mitigation.
Between 2017 and 2022, findings by News Diet revealed that 36 states of the federation shared N300bn allocation from the Ecology Fund; nevertheless, there are concerns that despite the huge allocation, several states haven’t addressed the erosion and other disaster zones in their jurisdictions.
The technical committee on Inland Waterways also called for the provision of fiscal incentives and single-digit interest loans for barge operators and othe water transport investments, highlighting Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Nigerian Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank as viable financial institutions to engage.
Noting that most of the nation’s inland waterways are polluted by coastal communities, the group proposed a department under the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) created to address the menace of waterways pollution.
The group equally identified the need to constantly train boat drivers and admonished NIWA to be concerned about the skills of boat drivers as much as the agency emphasises seaworthy vessels.
Members of the Inland Waterways technical team included; Principal Partner, Jean Chiazor and Partners, Jean Chiazor Anishere (SAN); President, Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN), Hon. Olubunmi Olumekun; Vice President, Nigerian Chamber of Shipping (NCS), Ify Akerele; Legal Adviser, BOAN, Mr. Victor Mgboji; Director General, Nigerian Chamber of Shipping (NCS), Mrs. Vivian Chimezie-Azubuike; Publisher, News Diet online newspaper, Mr. Kenneth Jukpor; among others.