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From Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja
The newly appointed Board Chairman of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and former Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Mukhtar Shagari, has promised to strengthen enforcement of safety regulations, improve monitoring systems, and promote a culture of professionalism across all NIWA operations in the country.
Mr Shagari, who made this declaration on Thursday in Lokoja at the NIWA headquarters while resuming as the Board Chairman of the agency, said henceforth every life lost would be one too many, stressing that safety was not negotiable under his watch.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda challenges every federal institution to raise its standards, strengthen transparency, and deliver tangible results that improve the lives of Nigerians.
“For NIWA, this agenda aligns perfectly with our mandate: to transform Nigeria’s inland waterways into safe, efficient, and economically vibrant corridors of national development.”
He emphasised three priorities that would guide his work plan: operational efficiency and safety, infrastructure modernisation, and staff welfare and institutional discipline.
In his words:
“We will strengthen enforcement of safety regulations, improve monitoring systems, and promote a culture of professionalism across all NIWA operations. Every life lost on our waterways is one too many. Under this Board, safety is not negotiable.
“In line with the President’s drive for economic expansion, NIWA will intensify efforts to dredge critical channels, rehabilitate jetties, and expand facilities that support transportation, logistics, and trade. We must ensure that inland waterways become a reliable alternative to the overstretched road network.
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“No institution can rise above the quality of its people. We will continue to support training, reward excellence, and uphold fairness in career progression. At the same time, we will insist on discipline, accountability, and ethical conduct at all levels. Renewed Hope must reflect in our character, not only our projects.”
Mr Shagari assured that the Board stands ready to support the management and staff to chart together a new course rooted in service, innovation, and renewed hope for the country.
Earlier, the Acting Managing Director/CEO of NIWA, Umar Yusuf Girei, said Mr Shagari’s appointment came at a critical time in the evolution of NIWA, adding that management was confident that his wealth of experience, leadership capacity, and commitment to national development would greatly enhance the attainment of the authority’s mandates.
“It is worthy to note that the authority was established by Decree No. 13 of 1997 (now CAP N47 LFN 2004) with the mandate to develop, regulate and manage the over 3,000 navigable inland waterways in Nigeria including rivers, creeks, lagoons, etc. for the safe transportation of goods and passengers for economic growth.
“To deliver on its mandates, NIWA operates from its headquarters here in Lokoja through various departments and 23 operational bases (area offices) across Nigeria and two inland ports i.e. Onitsha and Baro ports.
“This wide operational spread underscores the critical role of NIWA in national transportation, trade facilitation, environmental sustainability, and economic integration.
“The authority’s major constraint is lack of adequate funding, especially as it relates to capital projects and overhead. In addition, approved funds are either not wholly released or not released on time, besides the fund’s inadequacy, thus resulting in undue delay in project execution.
“The MD said the current revenue generation in the organisation was not adequate to fund the IGR budget while the authority also has the challenge of conflicts of operational jurisdiction with other sister parastatals and some government establishments.”
