By Mohammed Usman
The Ministry of Water Resources has denied allegations that it is proposing a 54 million Euro loan deal with the Hungarian government for the dredging of the River Niger and Benue.
The statement signed by the water resources ministry, Mrs. Margaret E. Umoh, said that information on the alleged loan emanated from one Victor Orbah, President of the Association of Nigerians in Hungary.
The statement reads in parts: “The attention of the Honourable Minister of Water Resources has been drawn to several online news reports and other media emanating from one Victor Orbah, President of the Association of Nigerians in Hungary; claiming that the Federal Ministry of Water Resources is proposing a 54 million Euro loan deal with the Hungarian government for the dredging of the River Niger and Benue.
“It is important to give Nigerians the true picture to avoid misinformation and distortion of facts due to ignorance. The authors argued that contract for dredging of the River Niger and River Benue is on-going and that the “anticipated project is a duplication and a misplaced priority”.
“The Ministry is surprised by the agitation of the “Nigerians in Hungary” as they failed to seek any prior clarification from the Ministry and we have no record of any earlier presentation from them regarding the matter. We are therefore inclined to believe that the group acted in “bad faith,” because at no time was the Ministry of Water Resources contacted by the Association for clarification.”
The Minister stated that the association is not well informed about the project, and that the project for the Niger River Training being referred to is an unsolicited proposal from the Embassy of Hungary in Association with Hungarian Water Engineering Team Ltd.
He said that the Federal Ministry of Water Resources found merit in the proposal and therefore opened discussion with the Embassy of Hungary and the Hungarian Water Team.
The Minister explained that , “Dredging and River Training are two (2) different endeavours in River Engineering. While Dredging is removing and handling deposited sediments from river bed, River Training on the other hand involves remodeling, reshaping or redirecting the pattern and path of flow of a river to attain desired socio-economic benefits. River Training is therefore a superior engineering endeavour that, apart from controlling flood and improving navigability also significantly reduces the frequency of dredging and enables opportunities for a wider river based economy. The proposed Niger River Training is therefore not a duplication of contract for the dredging of the river.”
He said that the Niger River Training solution will reduce flooding along the banks of the river as well as sediment transportation, facilitate navigation and minimize or even eliminate the need for dredging the river channel in the long run.
According to the minister the Niger River training will also engender prosperity occurring from fresh water supplies, flood control, irrigation scheme, agricultural and food industries and other economic opportunities.
He added that, “ This proposed River Training Study is in alignment with the Ministry’s vision of sustainable and Integrated Water Resources Management for the country. It therefore makes every sense to begin to plan for the future today, for the overall benefit of future generation of Nigerians.”
“With the foregoing, we hope that Nigerians in the country and in the diaspora will be assuaged and assured that the Government of President Muhammadu Buhari has zero tolerance for wastage and that the Federal Ministry of Water Resources under the leadership of Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, FNSE, as Honourable Minister will do everything within its mandate to improve the living conditions of Nigerians through actualizing the Water Sector Road Map,” he explained.
