The Nigerian Shippers’s Council (NSC) and the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) said on Wednesday that a total of eight companies have been licensed to commence barge operations from Lagos seaports to the Onitsha dry port in Anambra state.
Managing Director of the Waterways Authority, Dr. George Moghalu, disclosed this during the inauguration of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC)- NIWA Technical Committee in Lagos. The MD who was represented by NIWA’s General Manager in charge of Marine, Mr. Joseph Orhorho, who joined the meeting virtually, noted that the companies would commenced operations in a couple of weeks, saying that the collaboration between the Council and the Waterways Authority would further enhance the maritime potential.
According to him, the collaboration between both agencies was aimed to move cargoes on the inland waterways to the hinterlands without hiccups saying that the synergy was coming at the appropriate time to boost waterways mode of transportation. He noted that the project of barging cargoes from Lagos to Onitsha river port cannot be executed by NIWA alone but stressed the need for a robust working relationship with other sister agencies of the government.
Speaking earlier, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’Council, Hassan Bello, explained that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Technical Committee by both agencies of the Federal Government under the Ministry of Transportation, was set up to seamlessly boost cargo movement via the inland waterways.
