BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
The Federal Government is currently engaging with relevant state governors, including discussions with Kebbi State, to implement sustainable water-resource management and handle excess water from the Lagdo Dam.
Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, who stated this on Monday in Abuja to mark the 2026 World Rivers Day, said that the government is identifying dams requiring rehabilitation as part of measures to manage excess water and mitigate flooding.
World Rivers Day is observed annually on the fourth Sunday of September to raise awareness of the importance of rivers and promote their conservation and sustainable management.
Utsev enjoined Nigerians to end open defecation and indiscriminate dumping of refuse, plastics and effluents into drains, streams and rivers, calling for conservation of forests and wetlands, responsible wastewater management, efficient water use and stronger collaboration among stakeholders.
He noted that the government is exploring private-sector participation in dam construction and rehabilitation, adding that the government alone could not undertake all the required projects.
The Lagdo Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Benue River located in the Northern Province of Cameroon, though both countries control gradual release of water to avoid causing disasters within the surrounding communities, especially in Nigeria.
Utsev informed that the theme of the celebration, “No Forests, No Rivers, No Water, No Life,” underscored the interdependence between healthy ecosystems and sustainable water resources, just as rivers support agriculture, food production, domestic and industrial water supply, fisheries, biodiversity, livelihoods and economic development.
He encouraged young Nigerians to deploy education, technology, entrepreneurship and community action to tackle plastic pollution, open defecation, wastewater management and ecosystem degradation.
Utsev enjoined the media to sustain public awareness on the relationship between forests, rivers, water and sanitation, adding that behavioural change is essential to protecting water resources.
He stated that the Federal Government would continue to strengthen policies, institutions and programmes aimed at sustainable water resources management and improved sanitation services nationwide.
The Minister informed that climate change, changing rainfall patterns, flooding and drought were compounding the challenges, requiring integrated management of watersheds and water resources.
Utsev said that sanitation is central to river protection, adding that untreated sewage and wastewater could contaminate water sources, threaten public health, affect livelihoods and compromise water supplies.
He hinted that 179 Local Government Areas (LGAs) had been validated as Open Defecation Free under the Clean Nigeria Campaign, while more than 5,238 public sanitation facilities had been supported nationwide.
The Minister informed that sustainable water resources management required coordinated action by the governments, communities, traditional institutions, the private sector, development partners and civil society.
He was optimistic that forests, wetlands, floodplains and groundwater recharge areas helped protect river sources and regulate water flow, saying that their degradation threatened rivers and communities that depended on them.
Utsev said Nigeria’s rivers, including the Niger and Benue, as well as streams, wetlands and tributaries, constituted a shared national heritage requiring collective protection, just as he identified population growth, urbanisation, untreated wastewater, indiscriminate dumping, agricultural runoff, erosion and sand mining as factors threatening the country’s rivers.
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