Harboursandport.com: Lagos, Nigeria - September 19, 2026: The National President of the Waterfront Boat Owners and Transporters Association of Nigeria WABOTAN, Babatope Fajemirokun, has stated that the federal government's removal of fuel subsidy has crippled water transportation.
In an exclusive interview with Harboursandport.com, Fajemirokun said that boat operators used to ply the Apapa–Agbara, Apapa–Badagry, and CMS–Badagry routes, but the rising cost of fuel has forced them to limit their trips strictly to Apapa–Badagry.
"The business is not good for now; the subsidy removal has heavily affected it," Fajemirokun noted. "We no longer operate from Apapa to Agbara or CMS to Badagry the way we used to. We now focus only on Apapa to Badagry."
Although the WABOTAN president did not elaborate further, a boat pilot who identified himself simply as Tokunbo stated that apart from the high cost of fuel, passenger patronage has also drastically dropped.Tokunbo explained that fueling a 22-seater passenger boat now costs about N105,000, with fuel priced at N1,400 per liter.
He noted that a boat of that capacity consumes about 75 liters for a one-way trip and 150 liters for a return trip.
The pilot added that the high operational costs have forced him off those routes entirely, as they are no longer profitable.
He disclosed that before he abandoned the Apapa–Agbara route, the fare was N3,000. He estimated that the fare has likely risen to between N5,000 and N6,000 by now.
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