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Federal Government Pledges Support for Borgu Boat Mishap Victims
Federal Government Pledges Support for Borgu Boat Mishap Victims
NEMA to provide assistance to families and survivors following Niger State tragedy
ABUJA – The Federal Government has announced it will provide comprehensive support to families of victims and survivors of the tragic boat accident in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State that claimed 32 lives on Tuesday.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, said the government received news of the incident “with a heavy heart” and described the tragedy as particularly devastating given its timing – barely four months after destructive floods ravaged Mokwa, also in Niger State.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, the government, and the people of Niger State. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this tragedy,” Idris stated in a personally-signed statement.
The incident, which occurred on Tuesday, resulted in 32 fatalities while approximately 50 passengers were successfully rescued from the ill-fated vessel.
The Federal Government, working through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), will collaborate closely with the Niger State Government to ensure prompt relief and assistance reaches those affected by the disaster.
Idris commended the Niger State Government and its State Emergency Management Agency for conducting swift rescue operations that ensured all passengers aboard the vessel were accounted for during the emergency response.
In response to recurring waterway accidents, the Federal Government has directed the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to implement a comprehensive nationwide sensitization campaign focused on inland waterway safety measures.
“I will use this opportunity to once again remind our people to always prioritize safety when traveling on our inland waterways,” Idris emphasized. “No one should embark on boat journeys without wearing appropriate life jackets – these safety precautions can make the difference between life and death.”
The announcement comes as Nigeria continues to grapple with frequent boat accidents on its extensive network of rivers and waterways, highlighting the urgent need for enhanced safety protocols and public awareness regarding water transportation risks.
Lagos Deputy Speaker Throws Weight Behind 8th WISTA Africa Conference
By Samson Onoharigho | Waterways News
The Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, has pledged her support for the 8th WISTA Africa Regional Conference and confirmed she will personally attend the continental maritime event, billed to take place in Lagos later this month.
Meranda gave the commitment when she received a delegation of the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) Nigeria, led by its President, Dr. Odunayo Ani, during a courtesy visit to her office. The visit formed part of WISTA Nigeria’s pre-conference stakeholder outreach, targeting key institutional and legislative voices ahead of the gathering expected to draw policymakers, maritime regulators, industry operators, development partners, academics and professionals from across Africa.
Ani formally invited the Deputy Speaker and women across Lagos State to participate in the conference, scheduled for June 25 and 26, 2026, at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. She said the event, themed “From Policy to Implementation: Women Advancing Africa’s Blue Economy through Sustainable Shipping, Trade and Energy Innovation,” would focus on translating high-level policy commitments into concrete, sector-wide action.
The WISTA Nigeria president underscored Lagos’s pivotal role in Africa’s maritime economy, arguing that the visible participation of women leaders from the state would lend significant weight to ongoing advocacy for broader female representation in maritime decision-making, innovation, and economic governance.
A group photograph of WISTA Nigeria delegation with the Lagos Deputy Speaker, during a courtesy visit last week
“The support and participation of women leaders in Lagos State will enrich discussions and help advance the drive for greater female representation and inclusion across Africa’s maritime and blue economy sectors,” Ani said.
She also called on the Lagos State House of Assembly to mobilise women across the state for the conference, describing it as a rare platform for shaping a more inclusive and equitable future for Africa’s blue economy.
Responding warmly, Meranda commended WISTA Nigeria’s consistent contributions to championing women in the maritime industry and reaffirmed her longstanding relationship with the association. She confirmed her attendance and pledged active support for initiatives geared toward widening women’s participation across the blue economy value chain.
Nigeria Watch
The 8th WISTA Africa Regional Conference arrives at a moment of heightened policy activity in Nigeria’s maritime sector — from ongoing cabotage reform conversations and the CVFF disbursement saga to the broader push to position Nigeria as the hub of Africa’s blue economy. That WISTA Nigeria chose Lagos as the host city is no accident: with the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, the emerging Lekki Deep Seaport complex, and the administrative machinery of NIMASA and the NPA all concentrated in the commercial capital, Lagos remains the operational heartbeat of Nigeria’s shipping industry.
What stands out about this edition is the deliberate legislative buy-in. Securing the endorsement of the Lagos Deputy Speaker is not merely symbolic — it signals an attempt to build bridges between the maritime industry and the lawmaking architecture that ultimately shapes port governance, cabotage enforcement, and blue economy investment policy. For an industry that has long complained of regulatory fragmentation and legislative indifference, that kind of outreach matters.
The conference theme — moving from policy to implementation — also resonates sharply in the Nigerian context. Nigeria has no shortage of blue economy frameworks, maritime masterplans, and gender inclusion commitments on paper. The harder challenge, as industry stakeholders consistently note, is converting those documents into enforceable regulation, funded programmes, and genuine career pathways — particularly for women, who remain significantly underrepresented at the senior levels of Nigerian shipping, port management, and maritime trade.
Port operators, shipowners, freight forwarders and terminal managers attending the June 25–26 conference would do well to engage the implementation-focused sessions closely. The conversations there are likely to feed back into the policy pipeline affecting their operations.
Waterways News | Maritime & Blue Economy Reporting
Nigeria Projects Blue Economy Vision at Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News Correspondent
Nigeria has stepped onto the global stage to assert its maritime ambitions, with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, representing President Bola Tinubu at the Our Ocean Conference currently holding in Mombasa, Kenya.
The three-day summit, running from June 16 to 18, convenes heads of state, ministers, investors, environmental advocates, policymakers and civil society leaders to advance concrete solutions for protecting the world’s oceans while unlocking their economic potential. Since its founding in 2014, the conference has built a reputation as one of the world’s most outcome-driven environmental forums, with a strong record of converting pledges into verifiable action.
This year’s edition places Africa’s blue economy at the centre of deliberations, acknowledging its role in sustaining more than 50 million livelihoods across the continent’s 38 coastal nations. Key discussions are focused on persistent threats to marine ecosystems — illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, plastic pollution, rising ocean temperatures and the urgent need for expanded marine protected areas.
Nigeria is expected to use the platform to articulate its position as West Africa’s foremost maritime nation, drawing attention to ongoing efforts to develop its blue economy framework, reinforce maritime security architecture in the Gulf of Guinea, and improve ocean health across its coastline and exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The delegation is also expected to advance engagement with international partners on mechanisms to scale up sustainable ocean-based industries and deepen regional cooperation frameworks.
The conference programme extends beyond diplomatic exchanges to include investment forums, a BlueTech exhibition, youth leadership tracks and specialised policy clinics designed to drive innovation in climate adaptation and sustainable ocean governance. Organisers expect the gathering to catalyse fresh inflows of public and private capital into marine conservation and sustainable fisheries management.
Nigeria Watch
Nigeria’s participation in the Our Ocean Conference comes at a moment when the country’s blue economy agenda is still more aspiration than architecture. While the Tinubu administration has spoken broadly of harnessing Nigeria’s vast ocean resources — from fisheries and aquaculture to offshore energy and maritime tourism — the policy frameworks and funding mechanisms needed to convert that vision into commercial reality remain largely underdeveloped.
For Nigeria’s port operators, terminal managers and shipping stakeholders, the Mombasa summit carries practical significance beyond the diplomatic optics. International ocean governance commitments increasingly intersect with commercial maritime operations: stricter IUU fishing enforcement, expanded marine protected zones and emerging blue carbon markets all have direct implications for how shipping lanes, offshore logistics corridors and coastal port infrastructure are managed.
Equally notable is the investment dimension. The Our Ocean Conference has historically generated significant financing pledges for ocean-related projects. Nigeria’s ability to attract a share of that capital — particularly for port decarbonisation, offshore wind development and blue infrastructure along the Lagos-Calabar coastal corridor — will depend on whether Abuja can present bankable project pipelines backed by credible regulatory frameworks, rather than broad thematic declarations.
NIMASA’s ongoing efforts to modernise Nigeria’s maritime regulatory environment and the NPA’s port expansion programme are relevant foundations, but without coordinated blue economy legislation and dedicated funding mechanisms, Nigeria risks being a spectator at forums that are reshaping the global maritime investment landscape.
The question Mombasa should sharpen for Nigerian policymakers is straightforward: will the country leave with commitments, or with capital?
Waterways News — Covering Nigeria’s Maritime and Blue Economy Sector
NPA, Stakeholders Chart Course to End Lekki Port Corridor Traffic Crisis
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has convened a high-level stakeholders’ meeting to tackle the chronic traffic gridlock that has paralysed access roads to Lekki Deep Seaport and its surrounding industrial corridor for over a year, with participants agreeing on concrete measures to restore order to one of Nigeria’s most strategically important port gateways.
The meeting, chaired by Lekki Port Manager Emmanuel Anda, brought together representatives of the Lagos State Government, Lekki Port management, Dangote Refinery, truck owners’ associations, and the Electronic Truck Call-Up System operator, Mycallup — signalling a coordinated multi-agency response to a problem that has long frustrated port users and logistics operators.
A central resolution from the meeting was the outright prohibition of stationary trucks and tankers along the Lekki port corridor. Going forward, all trucks must remain in designated holding bays and waiting areas until they receive electronic clearance to proceed to the port or adjacent industrial facilities.
The agreement followed a joint inspection of the Lekki access roads by meeting participants, who observed firsthand the scale of the congestion. Stakeholders subsequently resolved that the situation could no longer be allowed to continue unchecked.
Dangote Refinery Trucks Identified as Key Factor
Mycallup’s representative, Timi Koteolu, identified trucks servicing Dangote Refinery outside the electronic scheduling platform as a significant contributor to the bottleneck. He noted that many drivers operating with Dangote’s Authority to Collect (ATC) permits had been parking indiscriminately along corridor roads while awaiting refinery access — and that these trucks are currently not integrated into the port’s electronic call-up system.
Dangote Refinery’s representative, Jaiyeola Moshood, clarified that the ATC permits represent the approved access mechanism for tankers entering the refinery. However, Mycallup maintained its position: trucks without an active call-up must not approach the port corridor and should remain in designated waiting areas until required.
Lekki Port Manager Anda specifically urged Dangote Refinery to fully integrate with the electronic truck call-up platform, noting that such collaboration would substantially reduce indiscriminate truck presence on access roads. He further assured participants that discussions with Dangote Refinery management would continue to strengthen coordination of truck movements, with ATC-permit vehicles only permitted to proceed when duly cleared.
The Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) and the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) pledged support for the initiative, committing to sensitise their members while calling for firm enforcement of traffic regulations. NUPENG’s Dangote Refinery Coordinator, Ademola Adeshina, also assured stakeholders of his members’ readiness to comply with the established Standard Operating Procedures.
Nigeria Watch
The Lekki port corridor gridlock is more than a traffic management problem — it is a symptom of the infrastructural and coordination deficit that continues to shadow Nigeria’s ambitions for a world-class port ecosystem.
Lekki Deep Seaport was designed as a transformational asset: a deep-draft facility capable of receiving the large vessels that historically bypassed Nigeria for Lomé, Abidjan, and Tema. Its proximity to the Dangote Refinery — the largest single-train refinery in the world — amplified that promise, creating what should be a uniquely powerful industrial and logistics corridor on the Lagos coast.
Yet the gridlock that has persisted for over a year on those same access roads tells a different story. It exposes a coordination gap that was foreseeable: two enormous, truck-intensive operations — a major seaport and a 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery — sharing corridor infrastructure without a unified traffic and scheduling framework from the outset.
The NPA deserves credit for convening this meeting and driving a stakeholder-wide response. Equally important is the frank identification of the Dangote Refinery’s ATC-permit trucks as a key factor — an acknowledgement that is necessary before any durable solution can take hold. The call for the refinery to integrate with the Mycallup electronic call-up platform is the right prescription. Until the corridor’s two dominant traffic generators operate on a single, synchronised scheduling system, ad hoc enforcement alone will struggle to hold.
For Nigeria’s maritime sector, the stakes extend beyond Lekki. The port’s performance directly influences how global shipping lines and terminal operators assess Nigeria’s readiness to handle increased cargo volumes — and whether the country can translate its port infrastructure investments into measurable trade competitiveness. A corridor choked with waiting tankers and unscheduled trucks undermines that case.
The broader lesson is one that NPA, NIMASA, and Lagos State should absorb as Badagry Deep Seaport, Ibom Deep Seaport, and other greenfield port projects advance: corridor traffic management frameworks must be designed and agreed before operations begin, not retrofitted after a crisis has taken hold.
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