Environment
FG Wants River Basins’ Access To Land
The Federal Ministry of Water Resources has called on state governments to remove all barriers preventing the River Basins from having rights to land ownership.
The Director, River Basin Operations and Inspectorate, Mr John Ochigbo, told newsmen in Abuja that doing this would promote the realisation of the food security target of the country through investment in agriculture.
According to him, the government alone cannot meet the country’s agriculture needs, citing challenges of insufficient funds, saying Nigerians need to take ownership of these programmes.
He said there was the need for states governments to remove all encumbrances on land ownership and acquisition, saying this was one of the challenges facing the river basins in the country.
“One of the encumbrances we have is around land acquisition, and this is the area that we need the cooperation of the states governments to facilitate the issuance of titles to river basins for them to be able to acquire necessary lands to develop and hand over to farmers.
“We call on the states governments to assist us in facilitating the release and acquisition of lands for farming in their various states.
“I want to use this opportunity to invite investors who are interested in this sector to come and join us in this effort, as the government does not have sufficient funds to do it all alone.
He noted that the minister of water resources had in the last one month appealed to the Economic Council and the governors to assist the ministry and the Federal Government to remove all encumbrances around land acquisition.
According to him, doing so will make it possible for the goals and targets of the river basins to be attainable, so we can launch fully into this programme.
Ochigbo said the ministry was working to reverse the ugly trend which saw abandonment and years of incomplete projects in the basins.
This he noted would be done through the formulation of a Blueprint and Action plan to repositioning the River Basins in the country, hence the promotion of agriculture.
He further said, part of the programme is the inauguration of the Graduate and Youth Empowerment Programme which has benefited no fewer than 500 unemployed youths.
The director said the department had been equipped with technical staff, approval and appointment of boards of River Basin development Authorities to ensure commitment to change the narratives of revitalising the basins for self sufficiency.
He said the minister was already working to ensure procurement of new earth moving equipment to see that they meet the food security need of the nation, saying the obsolete ones were being disposed implementation of the National Irrigation Policy had led to the development of more hectares of land for irrigation farming.
“We have received several applications from farmers that are asking for land to engage the commercial farming.”
He expressed optimism that in few years to come, Nigerians would begin to see the investment of the present administration in the river basins.
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.
