As part of its commitment to ensuring the safety of people, the Lagos State government is procuring life-saving, quick response boats to tackle emergencies on its waterways more efficiently.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Oladipo Lawanson, made this known in an interview with journalists in Lagos.
Lawanson said the state government is working on bringing ideas and best practices on water transportation, noting that the sub-sector requires millions of dollars of investment, to do it right.
He said, “We are going to procure life-saving boats, top speedboats and quick response boats so that, at any time there is an emergency, we will rescue promptly without recording any casualty.”
According to him, the government periodically distributes free life jackets to jetties to save lives on waterways.
The commissioner said that there was at least a guard in every jetty in the state to properly kit passengers before any journey.
“We have water guards in all our jetties to ensure nobody steps into a boat without proper kitting with life jacket because safety of life and property is very important,” he said.
Lawanson added that the government would set up a security institution on water transport.
“The institution will require a lot of training because water transportation is hazardous.”
The state Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode, at a roundtable on water transport organised by the state last month, expressed his administration’s commitment to providing critical infrastructure and the enabling environment for investors to participate in the ongoing efforts to revamp the state water transport sector.
He said that the sector remained critical to tackling traffic congestion in the state.
