Adegoruwa backs Lagos government over control of waterways

Lagos based lawyer, Ebun Adegboruwa yesterday backed the Lagos State government in its agitation for the control of waterways in the state. Adegboruwa who spoke with Daily Trust against the backdrop of the raging battle between the state government and National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) over the control of waterways, said Lagos State should be […]

Lagos based lawyer, Ebun Adegboruwa yesterday backed the Lagos State government in its agitation for the control of waterways in the state.

Adegboruwa who spoke with Daily Trust against the backdrop of the raging battle between the state government and National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) over the control of waterways, said Lagos State should be allowed to control its waterways in line with the current agitation for restructuring.

Following a July 18 Court of Appeal judgment, both parties have been laying claims to victory in the exercise of control over activities and resources generated from waterways in the state.

However, he  said the parties can as well appeal the verdict at the Supreme Court to get clearer pronouncement on who has the control over waterways.

He said the judgment had stripped the Federal Government of the powers to regulate waterways, stressing that the verdict is a victory for the proponents of restructuring and resource control.

Adegoruwa said: “I believe that the judgment of Court of Appeal of July 18, 2017 has further strengthened the call for restructuring and engendered true federalism in Nigeria. The mood of the nation presently is that of restructuring and the major plank of that restructuring is devolution of power from the federal to the unit- the state and the local government.

“So I believe that the point that the Court of Appeal has made is to strip the Federal Government of its power and begin to decongest the exclusive legislative list of the second schedule to the 1999 constitution. It was during the military regime especially of General Ibrahim Babangida that the NIWA Act was promulgated which seeks to take away the control of the state in respect to waterways within the state and I believe that would not be proper in a federation that the Federal Government would be controlling waterways of a state.”