January 08, (THEWILL) – The Supreme Court has affirmed the authority of the Federal Government over control of activities on the nation’s inland waterways, including levying and licensing operators in the sector.
The apex court declared that it was unlawful and illegal for states to seek to control the sector and impose levies on businesses operating in the nation’s inland waterways.
In a Judgement written by Justice John Okoro and read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the court held that existing laws give exclusive control of activities in the nation’s inland waterways to the Federal Government through the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the Nigerian Maritime Standard and Safety Agency (NMSSA).
Respondents to the appeal were the Lagos State Waterways, the State’s Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, the State’s Attorney-General, the Governor of Lagos State, the Incorporated Trustees of Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transportation of Nigeria (ATBOWTN) and the Incorporated Trustees of Dredgers Association of Nigeria (DAN).
The appeal filed in 2018 was prosecuted for the appellants by a team of lawyers led by Lateef Fagbemi, now the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice.
The Supreme Court agreed with Fagbemi’s argument that NIWA is the only agency saddled with the responsibility to levy, impose, and charge rates of utilisation along the declared waters of the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority.
It also held that NIWA is the rightful and legal agency of the Federal Government with the powers to exclusively manage, direct and control all activities on the navigable waters and its right of way throughout the country for inland navigation, pursuant to Sections 8 and 9 of NIWA Act.
It also held that the activities of the Lagos State Government and its agencies constitute a flagrant usurpation and an illegal encroachment on the statutory functions of NIWA because the waterways of Lagos State, among others in Nigeria, fall under the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution.
According to the apex court, only the Federal Government, through the National Assembly, can validly legislate on Maritime Shipping and Navigation.
