The Federal Ministry of Water Resources says it has initiated some processes, in partnership with the Bureau for Public Enterprises, BPE, for the partial commercialisation of River Basin Development Authorities, RBDAs.

Francis Obiwe, Deputy Director, River Basin Operations in the ministry, told News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday that the processes were part of the blueprint and action plan developed to reposition the river basins.

He said that the processes, which included a feasibility study, were targeted at actualising the goal of making the river basins self-reliant and self-financing.

Debunking reports that the commercialisation plans were delayed because of undue bureaucracy, Mr. Obiwe said that experts had been working assiduously to ascertain the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, potential of the RBDAs and their likely challenges.

He said that the feats of the public-private community partnership, PPCP, involving RBDAs were evident in Shuashi community in Niger, with the cultivation of 1,500 hectares of rice farms, producing about 4,000 tonnes of rice.

He, however, said that the experts had realised that there was inadequate water for expanding the irrigation component of the scheme to cover 7, 500 hectares in the area.

On water supply and irrigation projects, the deputy director said that the RBDAs were managing no fewer than 200 dams for rural water supply and farming purposes.

He said that Ogoja Dam in Cross River, Bakolori Dam, Tiga Dam in Hadejia, Kano State, and Owena Dam in Edo State were all used for irrigation purposes.

Mr. Obiwe said that water from dams could be used for irrigation farming, neighbourhood water supply, industrial purposes and hydro-power generation.

He, however, said it was saddening to note that there were no water supply facilities in most communities except for urban centres.

He underscored the need for a synergy between line water resources agencies and the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing so as to promote the hydro power generation potential of dams across the country.

Speaking on the appointment of new management teams for the river basins, Mr. Obiwe said that the action was aimed at repositioning the RBDAs for effective service delivery.

He said with the new management teams in place, efficient delivery of set goals and objectives of the river basins would be achieved.

He said that the federal government had instructed the management teams to restructure the operations of the RBDAs, with a view to promoting Nigeria’s food security and generating employment for its citizens.

(NAN)

Source: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/237267-nigeria-commercialise-river-basin-growth-authorities-official.html

Running country like their personal property

auntysimbiat:
Running country like their personal property

Did you read the news at all??or u just read the title of the thread and jumped to comment

Nice to see a continuity of government. This was a policy from Jonathan in 2014 confab. It's crazy this process is taking so long.

Commercialisation, NOT privatisation of River Basin Development Authorities to combine the need for income generation with social obligations to local communities and farmers. The Federal Ministry of Water Resources as the supervising ministry should work out an implementation time table for commercialisation that should not exceed 12 months;

Good development...Nigeria will be back again.


Meanwhile I have 16k plus followers instagram page for sale. Call 08084334575 for biz.

Okay

The way to go.

Let government face governance which is basically security of lives and properties cum welfare of the people.

Power, roads, etc should be handled by individuals and private bodies.

"He, however, said it was saddening to note that there were no water supply facilities in most communities except for urban centres. "

How can there be water supply facilities when most state's lack master plan. The ones that do don't enforce adhrence to it and the ones that try to ensure people adhere to it is the enemy of the people.


Until we have a master plan for each and every of our states, the government ensure strict adherence to the plan and we, the citizens, start to cooperate with the government on such planning, Nothing I repeat Nothing called infrastructure will never work in this country.


We have land. Instead of is to use it to farm, we choose to keep spreading and building useless houses. A time will come that there will be no more land for us to even build houses let alone farm what we will eat. Maybe when that time comes, we will start eating the useless houses we keep building like birds.

Hotshawarma:
Did you read the news at all??or u just read the title of the thread and jumped to comment...

I wonder o. Lil

it's a welcome move

auntysimbiat:
Running country like their personal property

Because the people are too dumb to know they are the ones who should be the master and not the other way, they have the power to hire and fire but choose to be powerless