FG awards contract for Dredging of River Benue – Amaechi

Minister of Transportation,Rotimi Amaechi has said that the Federal Government has awarded contract for the dredging of the critical part of River Benue. The Minister who disclosed this at the 2017 budget defence before members of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport on Thursday in Abuja, said work will soon commence. 

Amaechi said the project was a fall out of the decision of the Federal Government to maximize the use of the resources of 12 major rivers in the country. He added that the capital dredging of the Lower River Niger from Warri to Baro, covering a distance of 572 kilometers had also commenced. 

Amaechi said Baro River Port had achieved 95 per cent completion, adding that arrangement was being made for the provision of cargo handling equipment and turning of the basin to port. According to him, government has approved the upward review of fees and tariffs for the National Inland Waterways Authority to enable the country look inward and improve its economic base. 

He said the government was determined to encourage a river dependent sustainable economic development through marine transportation. Amaechi said: “The 2017 budget is for economic recovery and growth, therefore, the Federal Ministry of Transportation and its agencies under the 2017 budget seek to consolidate and sustain the achievements and performances recorded in the past years.

Source reportsafrique.com

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

Panic In Makurdi As Water Level Around River Benue Rises.

Residents of Makurdi, the Benue State capital, have resorted to prayers over the rising water level along coastal vicinity in the past few days.

The resolve to seek God's intervention according to some of them who spoke to our correspondent yesterday is premised on the meteorologists' prediction of heavy floods.

Agara Patrick, a sand and gravel dealer at John Holt water front in Wadata area of Makurdi, admitted that the water level of River Benue has risen.

"The water started rising gradually last week. Though, there is no cause for alarm yet, those of us doing business in this area have already taken our pleas to God to avert a repeat what occurred last year. We cannot predict what will happen, so at this point, we are relying absolutely on God. At this time last year, the water had already covered a better part of our business environment, so the good news for now is that the rising level of the water is still minimal", Patrick said.

Another respondent, Mohammed Adah of Lesel street, off Rice mill, stressed that residents have completely turned to God for divine mercies in order to avert a repeat of the calamity which befell them a year ago.

He said, "We have completely turned the situation over to God. Although, the water level is not rising as fast as it did last time, we are not relenting in prayers. We can only continue to make supplication for divine intervention or else, is there anything we can do"?

Similarly, Mrs. Victoria Terkula, resident of Wadata, added that the rising of the river Benue in the last few days has given her family and neighbours serious concern, especially as they don't know where to relocate to.

All efforts by our correspondent to reach the Commissioner for Environment, Eugene Aliegba, for his comment at the time of filing this report proved abortive as he was said to be attending a crucial party meeting. Messages sent to him were also not responded to.