“I won’t go outside NIWA Act to take a stance on Lagos Waterways conflict” – Mamora
The new Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, has revealed that its face-off with the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) is down to revenue, and not on any other reason.
This is even as he vowed not to go outside the NIWA Act to settle the rift between the Federal Government agency and its Lagos State counterpart.
Speaking recently in Lagos to newsmen, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora explained that his administration would explore an out-of-court settlement in the face-off between the Federal agency and LASWA in order to bring a win-win situation for both parties.
In the past few years, both NIWA and LASWA have been in court over who should have control over Lagos waterways assets, issuing of permits to operators and collection of revenue.
According to the former senator, “We can achieve a lot through the indirect or informal, rather than formal processes. The tendency is that there may be too much bureaucracy. There are legal and constitutional issues, no doubt, and that is why the matter is in court, but you can choose to settle issues out of court.”
While disabusing insinuations that being a Lagos politician might allow LASWA gain a upper hand in the face-off, the NIWA MD added that, “I think it is the prerogative of Mr President to appoint people where he wants them to serve. The fact that I am from Lagos has generated a lot of interest on the issue between LASWA and the NIWA, a lot of people have made phone calls to me, accosted me to ask what I will do.
“However, I won’t go outside the NIWA Act to take a stance on the face-off with LASWA. I won’t do anything outside the NIWA Act while pursuing a peaceful resolution to the issue.”
