NIWA Board Chairman thanks President Tinubu, pledges to discharge duties diligently

The Board Chairman, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA),  Hon. Musa Sarkin Adar,  has thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing him and other members of the newly constituted Board of Directors of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).

Hon. Musa Sarkin Adar, however, promised to discharge his duties by respecting the judgment and advice of fellow members as well as the management while joining hands with well-meaning stakeholders to create and make NIWA better than it is.

Hon. Musa Sarkin Adar stated this in his inaugural speech at first meeting of the board on Tuesday, August 20, 2025 at the NIWA headquarters in Lokoja, Kogi State.

The chairman said “today, marks the beginning of another phase in the history of this great organization of repute, I therefore consider myself privileged alongside other members of this Board to have been appointed by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, who considered us worthy for these appointments. I would also like to specially appreciate the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, His Excellency, Adegboyega Oyetola, for recommending us accordingly.”

He commended the past visionary board and management teams for working tirelessly with enthusiasm, inspiration and creativity to achieve the noble objectives for which the authority was set-up, particularly on infrastructural development of the Inland Waterways and the welfare of the staff.

“As the Chairman of the Board of this great organization, I will do my best to discharge my duties, and undertake to respect the judgment and advice of my fellow members as well as the Management. I will join hands with well-meaning stakeholders to create and bequeath an organization that is better than the one we have today.

“I want to assure you that I will be fully committed and willing to deploy my time and resources towards the attainment of the Authority’s vision to establish and sustain a first-class organization managed professionally and responsibly; one that is flexible and adaptable to the needs of Nigerians and recognized and respected locally and internationally,” the Chairman pledged.

In his welcome address the Managing Director/CEO of NIWA, Mr. Bola Oyebamiji, warmly welcomed the board members to their first meeting, saying it was an honor to have such a distinguished group of individuals on board while looking forward to working with them to drive the authority’s growth and success.

“As we begin this new chapter, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the authority’s current state and our future prospects. We have made significant progress/achievements in recent times which includes; increasing the number of goods and passengers on the inland waterways, enhancing safety on the Inland waterways by ensuring that the Water Transportation Code was processed and gazetted, deployment of more Water Marshals to man loading and off-loading points across the country, sensitizing the general public on safety by conducting sensitisation programmes in more than twelve states, while close to six thousand units of standard lifejackets were distributed. This is in addition to our annual safety campaigns across jetties and watersides through our operational bases and by enhancing collaboration with the state governments such as Bayelsa, Niger, Kwara, Sokoto, and Lagos,” said he.

The members of the Board of Directors are: Chairman: Hon. Musa Sarkin Adar, Managing Director: Bola Oyebamiji FCIB, Hussaini Shettima, Jeminiwa Adewale Charles, Dr. Ndidi Jenifer Ozegbe, Engr. Prof. Sadiq Z. Abubakar and Surv. Kunle Olugbemiro.

Others are Capt. Tajudeen Alao, Mr. Dele Kelvin Oye, Capt. Jerome Andwunwe, Hon. Hoplyn Euore and Barr. Naziru Biyankare – Secretary.