Dredging Of River Niger, Others Captured In 2024 Budget – Senate

The Senate has said that the dredging of River Niger, River Benue and other river projects have been captured in the 2024 appropriation bill to combat the recurring flooding and its effects.

It requested President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to facilitate the construction of Dasin Hausa Dam in Fufore local government area of Adamawa State to prevent excessive flooding from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.

The senator representing Adamawa Central, Abbas Iya, in a motion during the Senate emergency plenary yesterday said River Benue is an international river that originates from Northern Cameroon and flows into Nigeria through Jimeta in Adamawa State, Ibi in Taraba State, and Makurdi in Benue State before meeting River Niger in Lokoja.

He said the volume of the water flow of the river has been adversely affected by climate change and the construction of dams, resulting in its uncontrolled shrinking, which has had devastating effects on agricultural activities such as dry season farming, floods, and inland waterways transportation.

Leading the debate, Iya expressed his concern about the perennial flood by River Benue, which has led to the loss of lives, displacement of people, and destruction of farmlands, threatening food security. He believes that the situation will worsen if urgent action is not taken, and dredging the rivers is a necessary step to address the issue.

In 2022, he said over 2.41 million people were displaced, and over 600 fatalities recorded, with hectares of farmland across the affected states swept away.