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Moshood Adebayo
Indications emerged yesterday that the Lagos State Government and the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) may settle out of court over waterways regulations.
The duo have been in contention over who controls activities on waterways in Lagos, resulting in the state government seeking judicial interpretations on the matter.
NIWA Managing Director, Olorunibe Mamora, gave the indications during a courtesy visit to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the state House, Agidingbi, Ikeja, yesterday.
“I am excited this afternoon. I cannot thank you enough for this agreement. You were excited when I muted this agreement to you. I also want to thank your predecessor, Akinwunmi Ambode, since government is continuum. Our desire is possibility of settling outside the court.
“Today, this agreement is actualised. And for us at NIWA, it is all about what is going on in legality. Much more important to me is the good of our people and that is why I am looking at the area of legality. You do not need court intervention to ensure safety of the people. We want surveillance and revenue is the least important issue that we need to pay more attention to on waterways,” Mamora said.
On his part, Sanwo-Olu congratulated the two agencies of government for their desire to end issues on collection of revenues and authority on right of way.
“It is actually important to tell each other that collaboration is important, if government agencies cannot come together, how can investors come into the country to invest their resources.
“Transportation is one of the cardinal points of this administration. We also want to assure investors and partners that issues around water regulations have been eased out.
“Safety on the waterways is paramount and that is one of the things that we have discussed during the signing of this agreement. We must demonstrate that Lagos is the centre of excellence and it is important for us to improve the ease of doing business in the state as it is important to President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We will continue to be a major player and we should not forget that one-third of the state is covered by water. And we need to develop water tourism. I will like to commend NIWA participating in the agreement. We must understand that we are in government to ease the burden of the people,” the governor said.
