The Governor of Cross River State, Bassey Otu, has ordered the immediate suspension of all cruise operations and other activities at Marina Resort in Calabar.
Otu’s suspension comes in the wake of the boat accident which occurred on the Calabar waterways on Saturday, June 24, 2023.
This directive was contained in a press statement issued by Otu’s spokesperson, Emmanuel Ogbeche.
The governor also ordered the state Ministry of Transport to cross-check the safety standards and conditions of all boats operating in the Calabar waterways.
Ogbeche in the statement said the governor had scheduled a meeting between cruise boat operators and the management of the State Tourism Bureau on Tuesday.
“Besides the cruise boat operations, the State Ministry of Transport is to immediately cross-check the safety standards and conditions of all boats operating in the Calabar waterways,” the statement added.
The governor further asked that the police speed up investigation of the boat accident and prosecute those found culpable to serve as deterrence to others.
Meanwhile, the leadership of Nigerian Medical Students Association (NIMSA) has blamed the management of Marina Resort Calabar for the boat mishap that led to the drowning of their colleagues.
The national president of NIMSA, Egim Egbe, hit out at the Marina Resort management while speaking to journalists.
“This ugly, avoidable and extremely traumatizing incident causing so much anguish to the medical student’s community nationwide was as a result of negligence, incompetence and the lackadaisical attitude of the crew members and the management of Marina Resort.”
Meanwhile, three out of 13 students from NIMSA who went on a boat cruise at Marina Resort in Calabar, Cross River State are still missing.
The boat capsized at about 3pm on Saturday when some of the medical students who came from universities across the country to attend the NIMSA annual Health Week in Calabar as part of social activities went to the Marina Resort to have a boat cruise.
Three medical students with two from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and one from the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, are feared dead after the boat capsized.
