N-HYPPADEC visits Niger boat mishap community as death toll hits 42

From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna

National Hydro Electric Power Producing Areas Commission (N-HYPPADEC) has paid a sympathy visit to the recently boat mishap community in Niger state to condole and ascertain the root causes of the accident, even as the death toll rises to 42 persons.
The Managing Director Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa who led the team of the commission to the Gbajibo community in Mokwa local government of Niger state, expressed sadness over the unfortunate accident just as search for the bodies of the victims continue by the volunteers.
Yelwa explained that the commission is working assiduously to end this kind of avoidable boat mishap with lots of casualties in collaboration with regulatory agency National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and states government to curtail the menace because N-HYPPADEC only gives intervention.
He maintained that the recent accident was due to overloading and water waves leading to boat break but insisted on lack of life jackets usage by the passengers provided to them by the commission after last year boat mishap in the same community where 31 people lost their lives.
Represented by the Director Operations, Engr. Iliyasu Abdullahi Wara, he reiterated the commitment of the commission in providing solutions to end forthwith by partnering benefiting states government to enact laws with stringent measures put in place to criminalized boat drivers who make night journey, overload boats, non use of life jackets while traveling on the waterways to change the narrative of providing life jackets.
The representative of the Niger State government and Commissioner for Transportation, Hadiza Ladidi Idris Kuta, expressed sympathy with the victims families and the two states government of Niger and Kwara state, advocated for the prosecution of boat drivers who causes mishap leading to deaths to life imprisonment.
She applauded the N-HYPPADEC for its various interventions and the proactive ness of the rescue team operatios in saving lives and searching of the bodies of the victims since the incident occurred which is still ongoing and stated that governor Mohammed Umar Bago was shocked and saddened over the incident.
Kuta pledged that Niger state government will provide rescue boat, water ambulance, commutation gadgets and establishment of water marshalls to help in forestalling future reoccurrence of such incident in the state, just as she pleaded with the community to always obey the laid down laws and regulations to ensure safety of lives and properties.
Speaking on behalf of the community and member of the rescue operation, Mohammed Tauheed confirmed that the boat mishap was caused by heavy winds that led to break of the boat from the engine location, disclosed that 40 corpses recovered even as search continued.
He added that the boat was actually overloaded with passengers from both communities of Gbajibo Woro from Kwara took off from Mudi around 6pm to New Gbajibo in Niger state further revealed that over 200 passengers were in the boat, although about 130 was rescued alive while some survived on their own by swimming out of the river.
Tauheed applauded the Kwara state government for promptly provided about 7 flying boats they are using for searching and removing bodies while appealing for governments intervention in various ways to complement the efforts of the N-HYPPADEC.
A Special Custodial Jebba Division, Dantala Mohammed who was found at the bank of the river taking records of the recovery bodies in an interview, decries over the disobeying of rules and regulations guiding the operation of the waterways like overloading, night travels and non use of life jackets by passengers.
He however, on Friday confirmed the searched of 42 corpses consisting of two females and 40 males including one small boy all buried opposite where last year 31 victims were buried as searching still ongoing.