NIWA Takes Water Hyacinth Removal Exercise To Ojo, Badagry

The National Inland Waterways Authority ( NIWA) has concluded plans to carry out water hyacinth removal along Ojo and Badagry axis of Lagos State by next week.

Engineer Sarat Lara Braimah,  Lagos Area Manager of NIWA, disclosed this in an exclusive chat with DAILYFOCUS NIGERIA on Thursday.

It was gathered that passengers of water transportation within the axis have expressed concerns over the water  weeds invasion on boats and ferries, thus impending smooth sailing .

They also called on the waterways authorities to come to their aid and salvage the flow of the massive weeds within the region.

Although, clearing of the weeds from the waterways is ongoing in Ikorodu axis

Aside water mode of transportation, fishing activities have been affected with the massive influx of water hyacinth within the Ojo and Badagry axis.

Braimah recalled that NIWA deployed its massive swamp devil  machines to attack and clear pervasive water hyacinth vegetation, which has clogged navigable water channels  in ebute areas of Ikorodu in  Lagos state.

Presently ongoing, the Area Manager, said the project, which is  a direct and proactive response by the federal water transportation regulatory agency, to calls by boat operators,  is  strategic to keeping Lagos waterways free from such encumbrances and a headline efforts to assure boat operators and water transportation stakeholders of their safety.

“The water hyacinth weeds rear up its fangs from October to late December,  every year, a natural phenomenal occurrence that impedes boating activities and aggressively disruptive of  fishing activities on  inland waterways across the country. ”

Braimah who led the water hyacinth expedition team,  disclosed that the agency has mapped out strategic plans to tackle the menace, adding that a special team of NIWA environmental experts will be on detailed look out for the mystery weeds to help arrest their impact before they could overrun the navigable channels in Lagos.

She appealed to organised boat operators and water users to report any sighting of the weeds to the NIWA Lagos office, calling on  stakeholders to be circumspect  and obey all extant safety regulations.