The National Inland Waterways Authority has expressed sadness over the unfortunate boat mishap in which 15 persons died in Mai-Adua Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The incident occurred last Wednesday, 4th May, 2022 at about 11.00pm local time.
General Manager Corporate Affairs Jibril Darda’u in a statement issued on Friday extended the condolences of the Authority to the families of the deceased.
“We are greatly pained that this mishap occurred, despite all the measures the Authority has put in place to forestall such mishaps. “Only recently, the Authority distributed life jackets and some patrol vessels to all our Area Offices across the country, to enhance surveillance and monitoring of activities on the waterways.
The statement appealed to passengers and boat drivers to obey the rules and guidelines regulating passenger transportation.
“The use of life jackets; no sailing at night; the use of standard boats and not overloading the boats are key guidelines for safe passenger transportation.
“As we condole with the government and people of Katsina State and in particular, the families of the deceased, we shall not relent in our efforts to curb these occurrences within our inland waterways.”