NIWA Listed Into ‘FOI Hall of Shame’
BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – For consistently violating its obligations under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has emerged as the latest inductee into the ‘FOI Hall of Shame’.
The Media Rights Agenda (MRA), which named NIWA as latest recipient of the decadent award, said the Agency appears to have failed completely in its assigned goals, particularly in the task of making Nigeria the leader in inland water transportation, development and management in Africa.
A statement by MRA’s Project Director, Mr Segun Fatuase accused the agency of “lagging behind in the production, publication and broadcasting of navigational publications, bulletins and notices, hydrological year books, river charts and river maps.”
Fatuase noted that NIWA’s various lapses have also denied citizens the right and ability to obtain information from it, including information relevant to the issuance of licenses for inland navigation, piers, jetties and dockyards, the granting of permits and licenses for sand dredging, pipeline construction, dredging of slots as well as the approval of designs and construction of inland river crafts.
“Equally worrisome is the fact that the citizenry have also been kept in the dark concerning the crucial role of NIWA in ensuring the development of infrastructural facilities for national inland waterways connectivity with economic centers using the river ports and nodal points for inter-nodal exchanges”, he said.
Fatuase stated that NIWA, under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Transport as well as a Board of Directors, with 533 staff members on its payroll, has failed to provide clear details of the designations and salaries of its staff as stipulated by the FOI Act.
According to him, the day-to-day operations of the agency are shrouded in secrecy, with only some top officials such as the Managing Director and 12 General Managers identified while the salaries of all other staff remain secret, contrary to the provisions of the FOI Act.
Similarly, he alleged that NIWA has also not proactively published other categories of information outlined in the FOI Act that must be proactively disclosed.
Formerly known as the Inland Waterways Department (IWD) of the Federal Ministry of Transport, NIWA metamorphosed into a full-fledged Agency following the passage of Decree No. 13 of 1997 (now an Act of the National Assembly) setting it up as public institution.
It is responsible for developing and improving Nigeria’s inland waterways for navigation as well as providing regulatory, economic and operational leadership in the nation’s Inland Waterways system. In addition, its mandate includes developing infrastructural facilities for an efficient inter-modal transportation system in line with global best practices.