The Lagos State Government on Friday said its decision to
serve eviction notices to Tarzan Marine Enterprises and Metro Ferry, both
operators of commercial jetties in the State, was in line with overriding
public interest and quest to ensure strict adherence to safety measures and
international best practices.
In a statement signed by the Managing Director of the Lagos
State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Ms Abisola Kamson, the State Government said
that Messrs Tarzan was served an eviction notice on its operation in Ijede and
Badore jetties as they could not validate their claims of a purported 25 years
concession which the operator alleged to have entered with the government in
2006.
According to Kamson, the previous administration of Governor
Babatunde Fashola had investigated the claim by setting up a Task Force in 2010
to validate the claim that they had made two payments totaling N2.1million to
the defunct Lagos State Ferry Services for a 25 years concession, but the
claims could not be validated.
She said: "Based on that, Tarzan was asked to move out then,
but through some back door arrangement, he came back to the terminals and all
the while, he has been holding on to a receipt that has not been validated and
which could be potentially forged because there was no trace of any payment. He
could also not provide the purported 25 years concession when asked."
Speaking on the eviction served to Metro Ferry, Kamson said
the operator was given approval on the Oworonsoki Terminal by the State
Government to convey staff of Total from the terminus to their office on the
Island, but went beyond the terms of approval.
"The approval clearly states that the ownership and
maintenance of the jetty shall be retained by the Lagos State Government. It
clearly states that it shall be made available for the general public and other
licensed ferry operators. It clearly states that they must carry out all
operations in conformity with extant health and safety regulations set by
LASWA. The approval states all of that very clearly.
"But in breach of the approval, first of all, they were
collecting fees from other people to use the jetty without remitting anything
to government. They were in fact asking the agency of the State Government,
Lagos Ferry Services Corporation to pay and that is in clear violation of the
agreement they had with government," she said.
On the operation of the Elegbeta and Ikorodu jetties, Kamson
explained that the State Government allocated a parcel of lands to Metro Ferry
to use as an operational base, which was to enable them pick and drop off
passengers as well as establish a ticketing office.
She however said that Metro Ferry went beyond the approval
to develop the land for other purposes beyond using the property for their
operational base.
“They have gone ahead to have a car park, they have made it
into a commercial jetty which they charge people; they collect all these monies
and remits in line with that. All of a sudden, they are now saying they have a
C of O which we were not aware of and they never informed us even in our
meetings with them”.
She said aside the breach of terms by Metro Ferry, they had
jettisoned safety standards required for operating such commercial jetties,
which according to her necessitated the eviction.
“But our position as a State Government is that in line with
overriding public interest, our vision is to have safe practices. We can no
longer accept the unsafe practices being carried out by Metro Ferry in Ikorodu.
First, they have wooden jetty with diesel and fuel stored in jerry cans. There
are no provisions for disabled people and there are no proper loading and
disembarking of passengers.
Besides, Kamson while reiterating the commitment of the
government to encourage private sector participation said that the
administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was developing a master plan for
water transportation that would accommodate local and international investors
and guide them to operate within a specified framework so as to ensure that the
required standard is not compromised.
"The state is committed to modern ferries being operated.
The State is going to embark on channelization of all the ferry routes within
the state to make it modern and conform with the new regulations we have
developed.
"New modern jetties and safe terminals are being developed
by the state. We have private investors already and all these will be coming on
board starting next month. We are all working together to develop the new
guidelines to ensure that all these mishaps on the water will be minimized.
Safety is paramount and it will be standard that is comparable to international
best practices," Kamson said.
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