The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has promised that the Federal Government will carry out major changes to make water transport in Nigeria safer.
He also said there is an urgent need to look again at proposed laws that would allow the creation of floating coast guards to help stop insecurity on the waterways.
Oyetola said this while receiving a report from a Special Committee in Abuja. He repeated that the government is fully committed to making Nigerian waters safe. He added that the number of boat accidents happening now is too high and can be prevented. He said this can be done through proper rules, teamwork with stakeholders, and a change in people’s behaviour.
“Keeping our people safe on water is not just the job of the government; it is a moral duty,” the Minister said. “Every life lost in a boat accident is one too many.” He said the report from the committee would be used to plan both quick and long-term changes. “We will look at the suggestions closely and make changes where needed,” he said.
The Minister said water users must also change their attitude, especially when it comes to wearing life jackets. He said wearing life jackets is not something to argue about — it is necessary. He added that the government will soon remove unsafe and old boats that are often involved in deadly accidents and replace them with safer, standard boats.
Oyetola also called on state governments and local authorities to join the federal government in this mission. “We cannot stop boat accidents alone,” he said. “We need the support of state governments to enforce rules and save lives.”
He also mentioned that he had recently approved the distribution of life jackets across riverine and coastal communities. This is part of a plan to reduce the number of deaths caused by boat accidents. He urged the people receiving the jackets to always wear them properly whenever they travel by water.
The Special Committee that gave the report was set up by the Minister on February 27, 2025. It was asked to look into commercial boat operations in Nigeria, find out why accidents happen, and suggest ways to stop them.
The Chairman of the Committee and Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Bola Oyebamiji, presented the report to the Minister. He explained how the report was put together and what it found.
Oyebamiji said the committee worked beyond its original six-week deadline to make sure they gave a detailed and trustworthy report.
The report has six chapters. It looks into how boat services are run, where the rules are weak, boat design standards, and how government agencies can do better. It also gives a full plan to improve safety and monitoring.
Out of 64 suggestions made by four technical groups in the committee, 17 were chosen as the most important. These include setting up a Coastal Guard to enforce water safety laws; creating a National Boat Design Policy to make sure only safe boat types are used; making training and certificates compulsory for boat operators; giving NIWA more money to improve its work; and building rescue centres in key places on inland waterways.
Oyebamiji thanked the Minister for his support and appreciated the hard work of the committee members.
“We held both in-person and online meetings, and created four smaller groups to work faster. We hope our report will serve as a guide to improve safety in the water transport sector,” he said.
