Rivers are likely to erode about 28 square kilometres of land this year, which is more than the land eroded last year, according to a research body of the water resources ministry. The Jamuna, the Ganges and the Padma will aggressively erode their banks in at least 13 districts, said a report from the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS). At
A water resource expert, Razak Jimoh, has said that Nigeria currently lacks dam capacity to properly arrest floods and prevent loss of produce as the current budgetary allocations to the sector are inadequate.
He said the N475.6 billion estimated for the execution of the nation’s water sector is not enough, hence the abandonment of critical projects. Jimoh made this known during a two-day capacity building workshop in Abuja.
He said: “Some of the critical projects meant for control of floods and management of water resources have been on the drawing board for years, but lacking attention due to lack of funds may spell doom for Nigeria, especially in the areas of destruction of crops and a reduction in dry season farming.