LAGOS State Government and National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) have ended the lingering feud over control of activities on waterways in the state after 10 years of legal battle.
The feud, which affected activities on waterways, was settled yesterday with the signing of an agreement that resolved the issue of collection of revenue and authority on Right of Way issuance on waterways.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and NIWA Managing Director Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora signed the agreement at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja.
Sanwo-Olu said the collaboration would boost investors’ confidence, attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the sector and improve standard of waterways.
“Transportation is one of the cardinal points of this administration. We want to use this agreement to assure investors and partners that issues around water regulations have been eased out.
“Safety on the waterways is paramount and this is one of the things 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, which is one of the important issues to President Muhammadu Buhari,” he added.
The governor, who said one-third of the state was covered by water, stressed the need to develop water tourism.
He added: “We must understand that we are in government to ease the burden of the people.”
Mamora had said: “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.”
He added: “Our desire is the possibility of settling outside the court. I also want to thank your predecessor that he did the ground work. We all will be remembered for our impact because we care for our people, especially those that use the waterways.”
