The Managing Directors of the 12 River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs), have reiterated their commitment to work in line with a Federal Government’s agriculture policy thrust toward meeting food security and socio-conomic development.
The Managing Directors, who made this pledge at the end of a two-day retreat on “Re-positioning the RBDAs” in Abuja on Tuesday, also agreed to work in strengthening collaboration to making the river basins a great economy booster for the country.
Managing Director of Anambra-Imo RBDA, Mr. Michael Nwabufo speaking on behalf of the Managing Directors, said they would be transparent and accountable in all their dealings to turn around the river basins in the country.
Nwabufo said it was a common knowledge that river basins had not been working in its mandate due to diverse challenges, saying with the new management in place, efficient delivery of set goals and objectives would be achieved.
He said that the mandate given to them would be judiciously used towards restructuring the river basins to promote food security and employment generation for the citizens.
The Managing Director, Benin-Owena RBDA, Mr Saliu Ahmed, agreed that river basins had not lived to their mandate due to loss of focus and diversion from its core mandate.
Ahmed expressed hope that with the new blueprint on agriculture, river basins would be a fulcrum as a major economy earner for the country.
He said the new management team would harness the water resources potential of the various basins towards promoting aquaculture, irrigation farming and promote all-year farming.
He urged Nigerians to be optimistic that the river basins would support communities, interested private entrepreneurs in agriculture towards meeting the food security goal and wealth creation.
The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, had urged the new Managing Directors to be accountable in actions and practices, saying that corruption would not be allowed.
Adamu said revitalising the RBDAs was a sure way to reverse years of corruption, bad governance structure and weak institutional capacity.
“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 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 that they should adhere to transparency and accountability in their dealings.