
Anambra Assembly insists that life jackets be required on waterways.
On Wednesday, the House of Assembly of Anambra State demanded that Governor Chukwuma Soludo impose the law requiring life jacket use on the state’s waterways.

According to the Assembly, this would examine boat accident instances.
The MPs’ request followed the state’s Anam River boat tragedy on April 12, which resulted in the deaths of five people, including well-known Nollywood actor Paul Odonwodo, also known as Junior Pope.
Over fifty people, mostly women, had lost their lives in an earlier occurrence on the Omambala River in the Anambra East Local Government Area in 2022.
Ikenna Ofodeme, a legislator from the Ekwusigo Constituency, moved a resolution in the state Assembly on Wednesday demanding that life jacket use be mandated on all state waterways.
The legislator informed the House that the government was required to defend residents’ lives and property, citing Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution.
The Nollywood star’s passing was also brought up by Ofodeme, the Majority Leader of the Anambra Assembly, as justification for tighter rules that would protect users of water transportation.
“Most of the fatalities from accidents on our waterways have been caused by the absence of life jackets.
“It is imperative that businesses and schools situated in the state’s riverine corridor be protected.
“The use of current protocols, such as the distribution of life jackets, will contribute to the safety of everyone working near waterways.
We recently lost Junior Pope, a well-known Nollywood actor, to negligence. He stated, “This motion is about how to save our people’s lives and about negligence and preventable accidents.”
The motion’s sponsor, the Majority Leader, was commended by Speaker Somtochukwu Udeze, who said it will restore sanity and lessen fatalities on the waterways.