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A leading maritime pressure group, Blue Economy Alliance, has come down hard on the management of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), describing its defence on the lingering neglect of the Baro Inland Port as “shallow” and an “embarrassing cover-up of institutional failure.”
The group, in a statement issued in Abuja and signed by its Sector Director, Felix Audu, faulted the presentation recently made by NIWA’s Managing Director, Dr. Bola Oyebamiji, before the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the non-operationalization of the multi-billion naira Baro Port project.
According to the group, Oyebamiji’s defence was not only “uninspiring” but also exposed the agency’s lack of initiative, ambition, and basic administrative foresight.
“We read with shock the reasons adduced by NIWA for the non-operationalization of Baro Port. If the access road is bad, what has NIWA been doing for the past two years? If the rail link is non-functional, what steps has NIWA taken to work with relevant authorities? What happened to the millions voted for maintenance in the 2023, 2024, and 2025 budgets?” the group queried.
The statement challenged the NIWA leadership to come clean on why budgetary allocations meant for the Baro Port had failed to translate into tangible progress, accusing the agency of dereliction of duty and gross underperformance.
It expressed shock that NIWA was “pleading” with the House committee for intervention on issues the agency should have proactively handled through appropriate ministerial and Federal Executive Council channels.
“Mr. MD, your job is to include all needed budget estimates and seek approval from your minister and the Federal Executive Council, not to lament before lawmakers,” Audu said, adding that the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy led by Mr. Gboyega Oyetola also bears responsibility for failing to provide strategic guidance to NIWA.
The group also raised alarm over what it called NIWA’s “lack of robust response” to the increasing number of deaths on Nigerian Waterways. It said this development has worsened due to the agency’s laxity.
“All NIWA has done in the face of rising fatalities is share life jackets — a reactionary and insufficient move that betrays the enormity of the problem,” the statement read.
Blue Economy Alliance emphasized that its intervention was not politically motivated but rooted in genuine concern for the future of Nigeria’s maritime infrastructure and inland waterways development.
“We seek a safe and responsive maritime sector. Our concern is that the current NIWA leadership appears more engrossed in politics than in discharging its statutory mandate. This Baro Port debacle is a clear example of that misplaced priority,” the group declared.
The statement adds to mounting public and institutional pressure on the federal government and maritime authorities to account for the state of the Baro Port and implement urgent reforms across Nigeria’s blue economy value chain.
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