Insecurity Has Been Addressed around Lake Chad Basin- Nigeria’s Waterways 

Nigeria’s National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) says it can assure the nation that the problem of insecurity in the Lake Chad basin has been sufficiently addressed.

Managing Director of NIWA, George Moghalu made the disclosure in Abuja on Thursday, at the weekly briefing organized by the Presidential Communications Team.

Moghalu stated that the agency is already undertaking a hydrological survey of the Lake Chad region, assuring citizens and foreigners that the Lake Chad region is safe for economic and other human activities.

According to him, “Ordinarily, nobody will want to talk about Lake Chad but as we speak, survey work is going on in the Lake Chad axis. What that goes to say is that the issue of insecurity has been significantly addressed.

“Because if there was that insecurity that is being painted in Lake Chad, I don’t think our surveyors will be there. We are collaborating with the Nigerian Navy and the survey work is going on; the hydrographic survey of Lake Chad waterways.”

He added that once the waterways from the lake are reopened, that will link Nigeria with about five countries.

Cargo

The Managing Director further disclosed that over 65 percent of the cargos coming into Nigeria through the Lagos Port usually end up in Onitsha and Aba in the Southeast-Eastern part of the country.

He also said that everything is in place for the movement of cargo in Onitsha River Port even though he explained that it is the owner of the cargo that will determine the movement.

Moghalu, who was providing updates on the agency’s activities, however noted that the current road network infrastructure cannot withstand the sheer volume of traffic required to move cargo from the Southeast to other parts of the country.

This, he said, necessitated recent efforts by NIWA to provide water inroads to the Northern part of the country.

He said that water transportation would help to reduce the weight of the heavy duty traffic on the roads and also generate revenue for the country.

Waste Management

Moghalu used the occasion to advise Nigerians on the management of waste products, as he lamented the menace of floating debris in vital waterways.

He said the authority spends a fortune annually to rid the waterways of non-biodegradable wastes such as plastic and rubber.

He was however silent on the specific amount NIWA has spent in clearing the waterways.

He also said that work has commenced at the Oguta River Port which he said was abandoned for 13 years, until the coming of the Muhammadu Buhari-Led administration, adding that perimeter fence has been erected at the place and the port now segmented.