The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has set up a 7-man special committee to evaluate the operations of commercial boat operators in coastal and inland waterways across the country.
The Director of Information and Public Relations of the ministry, Anastasia Ogbonna, disclosed this in a statement this Thursday in Abuja.
Oyetola said the committee has 21 days to complete the evaluation assignment and submit a comprehensive report to the ministry.
He said boat mishaps have become a matter of urgent concern, hence the need to provide solutions to reduce it to the barest minimum.
“It is expected to review and come up with recommendations and actionable plans that will checkmate the menace. The committee has the Managing Director, National Inland Waterways (NIWA), Bola Oyebamiji, as chairman, with members drawn from the various agencies under the ministry,” Oyetola said.
The minister said the committee will conduct the evaluation by reviewing the existing commercial boat transport operations, boat mishaps and their causative factors, and current boat operations safety and security compliance.
Oyetola said the committee is expected to develop a comprehensive plan to address the findings from the review and guarantee safe commercial boat transport operations in coastal and inland waterways.
He said that it will also develop standard design specifications for basic categories of commercial boats for coastal and inland waterways.
The minister concluded that the committee will also consider any other related measures and issues as may be deemed appropriate for safe and viable commercial boat operations.