The National President of the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON), Chief Ganiu Tarzan Sekoni Balogun has instructed water boat operators in the country to adhere strictly to the new mantra of the association: "No Life Jackets, No Entry" when conveying commuters across the waterways of the country.
Speaking at the distribution of the Federal Government's 1,000 life jackets to water transporters in the state on Wednesday in Abeokuta, Tarzan insisted that henceforth, no matter the pressure, operators should not allow passengers who refused to wear lifejackets to enter their boats.
In an effort to prevent incessant boat mishaps resulting in death of passengers on the nation's waterways, the Federal Government has given life jackets to water transporters in 12 most affected states in the country, Ogun inclusive.
At a ceremony witnessed by several stakeholders in boat transport and tourism operators in Ogun State, the first batch of the item, 1000 lifejackets was distributed to boat operators in Abeokuta during the week.
Tarzan at the event described the Federal Government and state government intervention as a laudable initiative, stating that the preventive measures put in place for the safety of Boat Operators and Tourists in Ogun is an affirmation of their commitment to the safety of Nigerians.
Tarzan assured that boat operators under his leadership would do everything to prevent the death on the nation's waterways as the usage of lifejackets would be mandated for passengers and boat operators on all the jetties in the state.
He disclosed that the initiative has lifted the burden on the operators, which is also aligned with the slogan of ATBOWATON of "No jackets, No entry". This has been the tradition of the Association.
He noted that the provision of the jackets by the Federal Government has lifted the financial burden of procurement off the boat operators.
"It is a very great privilege for us to have these life-saving jackets, because as you can see, they are expensive; each costs more than N30,000, so imagine a boat in Ogun would carry not less than 20-22 passengers, which means there must be 22 life-saving jackets in the boat. So, for the boat operators to be able to afford that, it's a burden, but the government has provided that, so it's a great privilege from the government and NIWA. So we want to promise that we will do all we can to ensure that boat operators are using it. That is one of the reasons why we are here today; we would have taken it to our jetties. We want to bring them together so that NIWA can talk to them", he pointed out.
"We have fines for any boat operators operating without life-saving jackets, so we are going to discuss how much the penalty would be for anyone carrying passengers without life-saving jackets since now they have the life-saving jackets for free".
In his own address, Engr. Ipinmoroti Adeleye, the Area Manager of the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) in charge of Ogun and Oyo, disclosed that not less than 42,000 life-saving jackets would be distributed across the nation by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
He explained that the total life-saving jackets expected to be distributed in Ogun is 3,500, adding that the 1,000 being distributed today is just for the pilot.
Adeleye urged ATBOWATON authority to enforce the usage of the lifejackets by their members and all passengers for safety purposes during a boat mishap emergency.
He disclosed that the NIWA and other water security agents will begin monitoring as soon as possible, and sanction anyone found wanting.
Adeleye emphasised the need for ATBOWATON stakeholders to join forces with the Federal Government and state governments in ensuring the safety of lives of operators and their passengers across the water jetties in Ogun.
According to him since NIWA is a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, we are here to collaborate with the state to ensure proper distribution of these life-saving jackets.
"There is a regulation that has been gazetted, we call it 'the Inland Waterways Transportation Code of 2023', and the enforcement is starting now, so as you are receiving these life-saving jackets today, we are also going out for enforcement. The enforcements will not be by civil servants alone, it will be in collaboration with the NIWA police, marine police, Navy and Civil Defence and other security personnels"
"They will be on standby to ensure that the life-saving jackets are properly used. They will maintain absolute safety because of safety on the water".
The National Vice President of the Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN), Hon.Apata Samson, who also spoke at the occasion encouraged operators to ensure that they enforce the usage of life-saving jackets by their passengers.
Also present during the distribution were: Immediate past National Vice President South West of the Federation of Tourism Association of Tourism Nigeria, Dr. Kolade, the National Vice President of Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria, Hon.Apata Samson, Acting Chairperson of ATPN, Mrs. Olufunke Ogunremi, Mr. Akinsola Samuel Pioneer Secretary ATPN Ogun, Representative Ministry of Transportation, Acting state chairman of ATBOWATON Ogun Mr. Tanimola Bakare and others.
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