Opinion: President Buhari should direct NIWA to dredge River Benue.

The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) was established by Decree No. 13 of 1997 under late Gen. Sani Abacha’s Administration with a clear mandate to manage Nigeria’s vast inland waterways resources. The inland waterways of Nigeria comprises of the two main river systems, that is; river Benue and river Niger which form a confluence in Lokoja, Kogi State capital. It also has creeks, lagoons, lakes and intra-coastal waters. Although attempts were made to dredge the lower river Niger in 1958 and 1978, the dredging project was eventually approved by the Federal Military Government under late Abacha in 1996.

During late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s reign as Nigeria’s President, a new contract was signed in December, 2008 involving five supervising consultants in addition to four contractors and in 2012, river Niger dredging was completed. Late President Yar’Adua had river Benue next in mind and in 2013, the formal Managing Director of NIWA, Alhaji Ahmed Yar’Adua said feasibility studies have been completed on the dredging of river Benue and construction of a river port in Makurdi. At about the same period, a female member of the House of Representatives from Adamawa State called for an extension of the dredging activities to Yola and construction of a river port in Yola as well.

Under formal President Goodluck Jonathan’s leadership, his then Information and National Orientation Minister, Labaran Maku, made a public statement that the Federal Government will soon commence the dredging of river Benue up to Yola in Adamawa State. In October 2014, the Federal Government announced that a contract for the dredging of river Benue has been signed, but that work was yet to commence.


Presently, under President Muhammadu Buhari, the Managing Director of NIWA, Mr. Boss Gida Mustapha, in December 2016, while interacting with newsmen in Lokoja disclosed that the N10 billion inland ports under construction in Baro, Lokoja, and Ogoja has reached 98%, 57% and 75% completion respectively. He also said Oguta port in Imo State has reached 70% completion while Onitsha port has been completed. According to him, 10 other jetties were also being constructed across the country.

From the foregoing, I can sense a case of exclusiveness because the dredging of river Niger and construction of a port have been completed while some are nearing completion but that of river Benue, the Makurdi and Yola ports have not commenced. I therefore call on Governors Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Bindo Jibrilla of Adamawa as well as serving Senators and Representatives from both States to pay President Buhari a visit and relay my message that he should direct NIWA to commence the dredging of river Benue and construction of river ports in Makurdi and Yola so as to erase the feeling of exclusiveness.

Donald Gaadi
donaldfame@ymail.com
07036026019, 08058435407
Abuja