Nigeria’s dream of creating an alternative means of transporting heavy cargo via water may have received a significant boost as the Federal Government inaugurates a special committee and to develop the nation’s inland water transport system into a cheaper, safer and vibrant platform.

  The Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, who inaugurated the committee also said that government's mission was to achieve a more efficient and seamless mode of international standard that would provide complimentary services to the roads and rails as reliable means of cargo movement.

    The committee which is under the Chairmanship of the Director of Maritime Services in the Ministry, Mohammed Nagogo, has most members drawn from the private sector, officials of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), as well as some officials of Federal and State Ministries of Transport.

   Speaking during the ceremony in Abuja at the weekend, Senator Idris Umar charged the committee to work assiduously towards harnessing the nation’s water resources, lamenting that it had been over neglected, despite being the bedrock of inter-modal transportation system in other countries.

    The minister, who provided a historical background of inland water transport in Nigeria, identified navigable rivers and creeks in Nigeria as potential revenue earning zones, adding that with time government was going to prioritise the rivers/creeks for revitalisation, based on their economic viability.

    The Senator examined some of the factors inhibiting sustainable inland water transportation in the country and charged the committee to proffer solutions for them, in the course of their carrying out relevant visitation to the communities engaged in inland waterways transportation.