Senator Olorunibe Mamora, Managing Director, Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority, in this encounter with OLUYINKA ONIGBINDE, speaks on the crisis between the agency and the Lagos Waterways Authority as well as the efforts to end the feud.Excerpts:
What’s the update on the Onitsha Port?
Well, it’s probably premature for me to give you a run down because I am yet to visit the port myself. Yes, I have had some preliminary briefing but would want to see the situation myself and do an on-the-spot assessment before I can really give you details.
But I can say, yes, there have been issues. Issues that I’ve been briefed about, issues that are pressed based on certain petitions from some quarters.
But you can’t just rely on petitions written by people. I would still want to visit the place which I will do very soon to have an on the spot assessment.
This is to ensure one will be in better position to determine what the approach would be. But I quite agree with the fact that there are challenges.
There has been a lingering crisis between NIWA and Lagos State Waterways Agency. What is your approach to ending this feud, once and for all, more so, as you are a Lagos man? Also, we learnt you were brought on board to end this
feud…
I think it’s the prerogative of Mr. President to decide where he appoints you to serve. So, it’s about service. Having said that, naturally the fact that I am from Lagos has generated a lot of interest concerning this feud between LASWA and
NIWA.
I have received several phone calls on what we intend to do to end this crisis and soonest the crisis will be a thing of the
past.
Although LASWA has gone to court but they can still choose to be out-of-court so that at the end of the day, we can have a win-win situation which everybody is looking for.
Beyond that, it is the good of the people that matter most because that is the paramount purpose. So, I would prefer to have an amicable resolution through a win-win situation.
On amicable resolution, are you ready to give concession?
Now, it is not about me. This is because when you have an issue, the parties will have to sit down to negotiate. So, I cannot tell you at this point that we are giving concession, and I cannot give a concession that is outside the ambit of the powers conferred by the Act
itself.
But there are other ways that you can sort out issues but what is important is that a win-win situation will be a goal and then everybody, as they say, will live happily thereafter.
In what way is the Agency generating revenue?
If you look at the Inland Waterways Act itself, then we are looking at transportation of cargoes and human beings. We are also looking at tourism and economic activities and of course one of the mandate of NIWA is to issue permit, permit for waterways activities which could be transportation or tourism.
There are other agencies of government that do a lot of activities there, one of it is mining so we generate revenue from all that. And that’s why I said revenue issue is critical. It is not much of safety and security, maybe a bit of that because you still need it for the control and regulations of activities along the channel but it is more of revenue.
