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Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, has once again urged the Federal Government to expedite the dredging of the Rivers Niger and Benue to mitigate annual flooding and human losses along their banks and tributaries, local media reports.
Speaking at the Government House in Ilorin while receiving a delegation of top officials from the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, he expressed concerns about the human and material damages caused by annual flooding, especially in communities living along the tributaries.
“It is essential for the Ministry to start that immediately because of the damages it is causing to the national economy and food security,” said the Governor.
“Issues of internally displaced persons are of concern. People are leaving their traditional abodes because of the water level. We know that on both banks of River Niger and Benue, rice is being farmed extensively.”
“Two years ago, we saw how OLAM Farm in Benue State was devastated. The issue of dredging is not just about navigation. It is also about agriculture and building the marine economy from those rivers.”
Also, the Governor acknowledged the significant role of river basin development authorities in achieving food security and encouraged them to further contribute to this effort.