The Niger State Government has said that it is in the process of enacting a law through the Ministry of Transport and Inland Waterways to regulate the activities of commuters using local boats as means of transportation to reduce the incessant boat mishaps in the state.
Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Ahmed Inga, disclosed this in Minna on Friday.
Inga said the measures became necessary after 15 traders from Malale ward in Borgu Local Government Area of the state returning from Wara market in Kebbi, lost their lives in a boat mishap on Sunday evening.
“This law to be enforced will be that both drivers and passengers using boats as means of transportation must use life jackets.
“The life jackets will be provided by the ministry for free or at subsidised rates.
“The ministry is taking hazard and risk mapping across the state to identify areas prone to boat mishaps and also take enumeration of boat users to enforce the law on them,” he said.
He said government was making arrangements to provide relief assistance to the victims of the latest boat accident in the state.