Environment
FG Moves To Reposition River Basin Authorities
The Federal Ministry of Water Resources has in Abuja inaugurated a 12-man Executive Management Team to oversee the management of existing River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) across the country.
The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, said that the Federal Government’s target was to ensure that the river basin authorities boosted food security and promoted socio-economic development.
According to him, the re-positioning of the sector is to help meet the agricultural policy trust of the central government.
He said revitalising the river basin authorities would also go a long way to create opportunities for employment generation.
“It is saddening that they have not met their expectations since creation,’’ he said.
He said the Federal government was collaborating with the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) and ICRC to commercialise the river basins, adding that it was the sure way to make them viable.
“In the last one year, we had taken concrete steps to resuscitate the RBDAs, the first of which was to develop an action plan and blue print.
“The blueprint that includes `quick win’ interventions with the objectives of restoring mandate, building institutional capacity, maximising operations and output of the RBDAs.
“We are also collaborating with BPE and ICRC to midwife the RBDAs towards partial and eventual full commercialisation with little or no dependence on government for funding.
“The new management team of the RBDAs is now tasked to turn around the performance of the RBDAS to become more efficient in the delivery of established mandate,’’ he said.
Adamu urged the members to desist from playing politics with their assigned duties, saying they should adhere to transparency and accountability in all of their dealings.
Responding on behalf of the newly inaugurated members, Mr Micheal Nwabufo, Managing Director, Anambra/Imo River basin Development Authority, expressed optimism that they would live to their expectations.
He said the mandate given to them would be judiciously used towards restructuring the river basins to promote food security and employment for the citizens.
Other members are: Saliu Ahmed- Benin-Owena River Basin, Abba Garba- Chad Basin, Bassey Nkposong- Cross River Basin, Khalid Abdullahi-Hadejia-Jama’are River Basin, Mahmoud Adra-Lower Benue River Basin Development and Adeniyi Aremu – Lower Niger River Basin.
The rest are: Tonye David-West-Niger Delta River Basin, Olufemi Odumosu-Ogun/ Osun River Basin, Bature Mohammed -Sokoto Rima River Basin, Abubakar Muazu -Upper Benue River Basin and Abdulkarim Ali-Upper Niger River Basin.
President Muhammadu Buhari had last week approved the reconstitution of the executive management of river basin development authorities under the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.
President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mrs Margaret Oguntala, has inaugurated the construction of 18 units residential terrace in highbrow Alausa area of Lagos toward bridging the nation’s shelter gap.
Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation has launched the 1GOV Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) to enhance digital governance and improve service delivery.
The launch, held on Thursday in Abuja, marks the ministry’s transition from paper-based operations to a smart, integrated and technology-driven work environment.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, said the deployment aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
Utsev said the system would improve data management, streamline workflows and strengthen transparency and accountability across the ministry.
According to him, the ECMS will enhance productivity, preserve institutional memory and reduce operational costs in the ministry.
Launching the platform, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, said the initiative is a major step in public sector reform.
She said the ministry’s mandate affects Nigerians through water supply, sanitation, irrigation, river basin development and climate resilience programmes.
Walson-Jack said the 1GOV ECMS enables secure digital records management, automated workflows, electronic approvals and real-time collaboration across MDAs.
She added that the deployment aligns with the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025 and the directive for full digitalisation by December 2025.
“Effective governance cannot afford delays caused by manual bottlenecks or avoidable inefficiencies,” she said.
She directed that all official correspondence in the ministry must henceforth be processed through approved digital registry channels.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Emanso Umobong, said the system would eliminate workflow inefficiencies and improve service delivery.
She urged staff to fully adopt the platform and engage in continuous capacity building.
Research shows that local communities and citizens living at the grassroots, particularly women, are directly impacted by the environmental degradation, flooding and others that result from these manifestations.
In the light of this, non-governmental organisation, Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development (EUFORDe), has held a forum for women and other members of oil impacted communities, tagged: ‘Voices from the Grassroots,’ and aimed at building their resilience and mitigation efforts against climate change and environmental degradation
The forum, with the theme: ‘Building Resilience for Oil Spill Impacted Ahoada Communities,’ organised with support from Global Green Grants, was held in Ahoada Community, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, on December 5, 2025.
Executive Director of Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development, Mercy Elemchukwu-James, said women are at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and environmental degradation.
The event, therefore, was “designed for community women impacted by oil spills, flooding and other environmental degradation,” she said.
Community women were enlightened by resource persons on new opportunities for sustainable agricultural practices and water management techniques that cushion the impact of oil spills.
Lectures were also delivered on Self-care and Trauma-care, with focus on physical and mental health of the population, and increasing access to health-related resources and services; as well as on Food security and women’s critical role in decision making in oil spill and flood situations in communities
Elemchukwu-James pointed out that the event created a forum for stakeholders, civil society actors and others to dialogue on measures at advancing inclusive and sustainable livelihoods of community women.
She stressed the need for collaborative efforts towards achieving mitigation efforts, while underscoring EUFORDe’s commitment to “fostering partnerships as a critical driver for achieving a healthy community and sustainable development.”
Elemchukwu-James described participants’ design of ‘Community Resilience Plan,’ to manage and combat environmental degradation and crises, as part of achievements recorded at the event.
The forum also witnessed the launching of EUFORDs’ Center For Resilience and Rights.
“This center is established to build resilience as Trauma-Care for victims of environmental degradation, support for survivors of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and a platform where victims of environmental injustice and other GBV cases can seek redress,” Elemchukwu-James said.
Participants celebrated the milestones achieved and charted a path toward greater impact in the coming years. They also described the event as “an inspiring and transformative experience.”
Elemchukwu-James said the awareness creation workshop “reaffirms EUFORDe’s mission to create an equitable society in which the rights and capacities of women, youth, children and underprivileged are integrated in the socio-economic planning and development of communities, for the attainment of equity and peace.