LAGOS FEBRUARY 24TH (URHOBOTODAY)-The Association of Boats and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWTON) on Wednesday decried the ban of the use of 200 horse power (HP) engines for boat transportation on the waterways.
Tarzan Balogun, the president of the association, told the Newsmen in Lagos that the order was not in the interest of the operators.
He said that there were certain areas on the waterways that only boats being powered by 200HP engines could chart.
Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) recently announced the ban of the use of 200 HP boat engines by operators.
Balogun said that the ban followed allegations that boats with that capacity were being used by armed robbers to escape through the waterways after their operations.
He said that as a result of that NIMASA decided to ban the use of 200HP engines for boat operators.
According to him, the ban is not the solution to fight sea piracy in the country. Balogun said that one of the solutions was to provide gun boats for security operatives on patrol of the waterways.
He said NIMASA should re-strategise its operations in curbing the menace of criminals and smuggling on the sea.
According to him, this directive would have negative effects on many citizens because it is faster to use such engines to travel to interior parts of the coastal communities in the country.
Balogun also said that this would affect operators plying some riverine communities, and called on NIMASS to review its stand on it.
“Many operators will be out of business, ” he said.
Balogun urged the Federal Government to build filling stations along the coastal areas to ease the stress of operators buying petrol at filling stations far from their routes.
“Most of the passengers boats are using 250hp downwards, as to move people across the waterways. The earlier you off the boat the better. We appreciate the government concerned about the security and safety of our nation, but we should not allow militants to bring the country backward,” He stated.