The Honourable Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, FNSE, has disclosed that the Federal Government of Nigeria has plans to tackle the dwindling flow of the River Niger.
The minister made this declaration at a Technical Experts meeting on 14th July, 2017 in Abuja.
Also considered at the meeting, is the development of Kandadji Dam project upstream the River Niger and other related issues affecting the region.
According to the Minister, it is no longer news that River Niger is drying up as a result of climate change and other human activitiesupstream of the Niger.
“Available records show that if proactive measures are not taken, River Niger will completely disappear within a few decades”, he explained.
Nigeria belongs to two important trans-boundary water institutions; the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) and the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) which are today the sources of potential conflicts and contention in many parts of the world.
Declaring the meeting open, the minister charged the participants of experts to critically examine and discuss the current state of development of Kandadji Dam and possible ways of tackling the River Niger’s dwindling flow. This would enable Nigeria make recommendations that will form Nigeria’s position for decision making.
In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Musa Ibrahim said that River Niger is of special importance to Nigeria because more than 30 millionNigerians depend on the resources of the river for their livelihood.
He stated that the river has reduced from 2 million square kilometers to1.5 million square kilometers due to climate change. He also added that the drying up of the river is also due to low investments by major countries who share the water resources of the river.
Margaret E. Umoh
Director (Press & Public Relations Unit)
