General
Waterway Accidents: FG Urges States to Ban Wooden Boats, Night Travel
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
State governments have been advised to ban the use of wooden boats for commercial water transportation to reduce waterway accidents.
This call was made by the federal government through the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola.
The Minister argued that wooden boats are unstable and are highly prone to capsizing because they deteriorate quickly, unlike fibre and aluminium vessels which are more durable and safer.
His call followed incessant boat accidents in some parts of the country.
He charged the sub-nationals to adopt safer fibre-reinforced plastic and aluminium vessels to tackle the recurring and avoidable waterway accidents.
Mr Oyetola urged strict adherence to water safety regulations, warning against night travel, overloading, and the use of rickety vessels, while stressing the importance of wearing life jackets.
He disclosed that 35,000 life jackets were distributed to riverine states in 2025 and called for stronger collaboration with state governments to improve safety, noting that water transport remains critical to Nigeria’s blue economy.
