Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on Thursday expressed the readiness of the state government to partner the Nigerian Maritime and Aviation Safety Agency (NIMASA) to develop the waterways in the state.
Akeredolu, who made this known in Akure during a courtesy visit to him by a delegation from NIMASA, said the waterways could serve as another major means of travel in Nigeria.
He said the waterways in Nigeria had suffered a lot and were mostly clogged with water hyacinth, urging that something could be done to clean them. “When the water hyacinth is properly harvested, it could be used for something else, even for biogas,” he said.
Akeredolu further said the time had come to have a proper department for maritime studies. “Most boats in our coastal areas were built by our people. They have mastered that art, they have skills and we can tap into it,” he said.
Earlier, Rotimi Fasakin, Executive Director (Operations) of NIMASA, said the visit was to leverage on the state’s efforts to make the waterways pollution-free. Fasakin said the visit was also to sensitise people in the riverside areas on security and adequate management of maritime space.
He also promised to work on the possibility of making the Araromi-Lagos route a reality to enhance transportation on the waterways. “All these are geared toward making our impact felt in a larger dimension.
“Ondo State constitutes a large portion of Nigeria’s expansive coastline, so it’s important that the state should be able to exploit the resources of the marine environment,” he said.
