The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has advised boat owners and operators to explore modern technology in all aspects of water transportation in the nation.
NIWA Lagos Area Manager, Engr. (Mrs) Sarat Braimah made this call even as she advised the leadership of Waterfront Boat Owners and Transporters Association Of Nigeria (WABOTAN) to embrace technology.
Engr. Braimah said this while hosting the newly inaugurated WABOTAN executives led by its President, Mr Tope Fajimirokun, in Lagos yesterday.
The NIWA boss assured that NIWA will encourage all associations and groups willing to partner with government to move the industry forward.
She posited that it is the desire of the industry to benchmark new growth process and projects which will innovate and drive templates to speedy advancement of the brown water economy, targeting new jobs and contributing to nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Braimah enjoined WABOTAN to stay focused on its vision and aspirations inorder to avoid failure to its birth goals.
“We will be watching your operations as go about your concerns. We know your passion for the industry and pray that you stay focused and avoid positions which may cause problems for the industry.”
“At NIWA, we must identify your members and effectively engage them, to know what they will do so that we can be well guided to ensure safety of waterways users and also monitor your day to day activities.” She explained.
Meanwhile, the President of WABOTAN, Mr. Tope Fajimirokun, stated that the association has presence in all littoral communities and states in the country, adding that the group is out to address certain challenges in the industry and progressively response to key developmental expectations by stakeholders in the sector.
“We are clearly set to bring new ideas, assist government to put in measures to empower and create more jobs, and put to use technology to operationalise water transportation business, train and retrain our members and effectively engage government towards improving the quality of service on our waterways,” he said.
Fajimirokun further added that the association will stay out of confrontation and will deploy research findings to compliment the process of developing policy growth issues by government to help escalate private sector investment on the brown water economy.
