Involvement
By Tosin Kolade
Abuja, March 28, 2018 (NAN) Dr Ibrahim Bashir, a Consultant on River Basins, has called for private sector involvement in irrigation processes toward repositioning the river basins for efficiency and food security in the country.
Bashir made the callin Abuja on Wednesday, at the opening of a two-day Retreat for the Governing Boards of the 12 River Basin Development Authorities and the Parastatals of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.
According to him, the loss of biodiversity through environmental degradation and manmade activities is a major challenge facing the river basins in the country.
He said the involvement of public-private partnerships and farmers would go a long way to carry out the full optimisation of the benefits of the river basins.
“There is the need for private the sector to take ownership of activities in the river basins; they would help in achieving the overall goal of food security.
“Farmers can domesticate the irrigation projects; this can be made beneficial with recognisable terms of reference for profit sharing and supervision roles.”
Bashir noted that no society can survive without water, saying there was the need for Nigeria to join the rest of the world in making development inclusive.
He also noted that policy inconsistency, resettlement crises from dam constructions, among others were the leading causes of low productivity in the river basins.
The consultant said there was the need to reform the water sector through deliberate service delivery mechanisms that would promote effective management of the river basin operations in the country.
He also underscored the need for strengthened collaboration between the Ministries of Water Resources and Agriculture to support policies and programmes that would reposition the river basins for effective functioning.
The consultant also said that when the river basins were functional, they would go a long way to open new frontiers of sea transportation, hydropower generation and tourism potential.
Mr Babatope Meseko, Director, Procurement, Ministry of Water Resources, speaking on ‘Essentials of Procurement Procedures for Efficient and Effective Oversight Responsibilities’, urged the board chairmen to abide by the principles of procurement.
He stressed the need for transparency and accountability in the judicious use of resources for the benefit of the majority. (NAN)
TAK/BOLA/DUA
Edited by Bola Akingbehin/Dada Ahmed