The Supreme Court has ruled that the Federal Government has total control of all waterways in the country, including the right to levy and license operators in the sector.
The apex court in its ruling declared that states attempting to regulate the sector and impose levies on businesses operating in the nation’s inland waterways were acting wrongly, unlawfully, and illegally.
Ruling on an appeal marked SC/CV/17/2018, the court held that States lack the constitutional right to regulate the sector.
The Lagos State Government had in 2012, in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/543/2012, dragged the Federal Government before the Federal High Court in Lagos asking the court to determine which tier of government was empowered by extant laws to license and levy business operators on the nation’s inland waterways.
The apex court restored the judgment delivered on March 28, 2014, by Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court in Lagos. It reversed July 18, 2017, judgment of the Court of Appeal (Lagos division), which set aside the Federal High Court judgment.
The Court of Appeal had, among others, held that the inland waterways within Lagos State, not captured by the National Inland Waterways Act, are within the legislative competence of the state’s Legislature and that the state could collect taxes/levies on businesses on waterways which start and terminate in the state.
The appeal was filed in 2018 by the National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, and the Nigerian Maritime Standard and Safety Agency, NMSSA, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, as well as the Minister of Transport.
Respondents to the appeal were the Lagos State Waterways Authority, the state’s Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, the state’s Attorney-General, the Governor of Lagos State, the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transportation of Nigeria, and the Incorporated Trustees of Dredgers Association of Nigeria.
The Supreme Court ruled that the existing legal framework exclusively assigns control over activities within the nation’s inland waterways to the Nigerian Government, executed through its agencies – the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the Nigerian Maritime Standard and Safety Agency (NIMASSA) – without any provision for involvement by other tiers of government.
“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, under Sections 8 and 9 of NIWA Act.”
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
