Inland Waterways seeks settlement with Lagos

The National Inland Waterways  has resolved to settle out-of-court, its rift with the Lagos government to make way for an effect coastal operations.
 The new Director-General (DG) of the Agency, Mr Olorunibe Mamora, said NIWA was looking at the benefits of the use of the waterways for transportation and tourism as bait to settle the rift.
 Mamora, former two times speaker of the Lagos Assembly and former senator said that it would be a win-win situation at the end of the settlement.
 The protracted legal tussle between the Federal and Lagos governments has been over who controls the waterways in Lagos with huge economic potentials.
 According to him the court processes have been ongoing with no end in sight it is good for us to try an alternative to legal judgment at resolving this issue.
 “We are looking at the benefits of the sector in terms of transportation, tourism and sundry economic empowerment of the people and not who wins at the court that is far from our aim.
 “The dispute cannot continue for the common good our country is blessed with navigable coastal line there is need for us to explore such for the benefit of our people.
 “If the Nigeria should harness the potentials in the coastal areas for say transportation there will be less pressure on our roads networks and citizens interactions promoted,’’ the three-week-old D-G said.
 He added that there would be effective inland waterways transport system nationwide if the NIWA Act before the National Assembly scales through and passed into law.