Except there is renewed effort to conclude the construction, the proposed website of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), niwa.gov.ng, may end up abadoned and inconclusive.
The portal, which was copyrighted in 2009, is still “under construction.’’
The website’s section on current news was dated May 31, 2009, signposting the fact that the website may have been on the cyberspace for too long without being updated.
The site’s events section was literally empty, while the message left behind on the section reads: “Details on upcoming events go here … (Sic). Under construction, come back soon.”
The sections for NIWA’s Action Plan and Officers also contained the same information.
THE PUNCH in the investigative report further stated: “Meanwhile, despite the appointment of a former Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Maryam Ciroma, as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, in May, the website still recognises one Mrs. CFO Ezenwa as the head of the agency. No mention was made of its immediate past MD, Mr. Ahmed Aminu-Yar’Adua, during a check on the site on Tuesday.
“Essential information on river navigational charts, inland waterways atlases, navigational aids, and other hydrographic information were virtually absent on the website. The result of at a visit to the website of the Inland Waterways Authority of India, iwai.nic.in, could, however, be used as a bench mark against which management of NIWA measures its effectiveness and efficiency on the cyber space.
“Besides, a further check shows that the agency has yet to embrace the benefits of the social media as a channel for interactions and constructive engagement as there was no plug-in for any social network on the website.”
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