NIWA boosts operations, deploys machines to clear Ikorodu water Hyacinth

…Assures of readiness to fight menace

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

The Water Hyacinth vegetation which has clogged navigable water channels in Ebutte area of Ikorodu in Lagos state has no doubt given the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) sleepless nights.

To this end, it has deployed its massive swamp devil machines to attack and clear the prevalent menacing vegetation.

In a press statement on Thursday, the agency stated that the project which is ongoing, is a direct and proactive response by the Federal Water Transportation Regulatory Agency towards urgent call by boat operators.

The statement added that the move is strategic to keep 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.

Engineer (Dr.) Sarat Lara Braimah, Lagos Area Manager of NIWA who led the water Hyacinth expedition team, disclosed that NIWA has mapped out strategic plans to tackle the menace, adding that a special team of NIWA environmental experts will be on detailed lookout for the mystery weeds to help arrest their impact before they 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.