Niger State: Canal Construction Completed, Erosion To Be Checked

Residents of Rafin Gora in Kontagora Local Government Area, Niger State will soon breathe a sigh of relief as the ongoing construction of canals around the community is said to be completed. 

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello during an inspection tour to the project sites on Thursday, expressed satisfaction at  the level of work done.

The project, an intervention between the Niger State Government and the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project(NEWMAP),a World Bank assisted programme meant to curb ecological challenges in communities suffering annual gully erosion.

Bello disclosed that the community has been plagued with ecological problems leading to the destruction of many homes.

He said, "Rafin Gora has been plagued by ecological problems, unfortunately, a lot of houses have been lost to ecological issues but with this intervention executed jointly between NEWMAP and the state government counterpart funds, the other houses you see can be protected."

The Governor noted the need to expand the scope of the work in the nearest future,although the immediate threat has been addressed.

Bello expressed optimism that the project would be completed in a few weeks and that it would avert major disasters in the community. 

"I am happy that they will complete it before the heavy rains, we expect heavy downpours sometimes in June, we have a window of two to three weeks to complete the project. They had to stop the work for a few months due to banditry attacks but they are now back to site fully, they  work day and night and have made serious progress.

"There is a need to expand the scope of the work, but at the moment, the immediate threat has been addressed", he said.

The Resident Engineer of the project, Sunday Jolaiya assured that the project will be completed before next month and will put an end to the erosion and flood problem experienced by the residents of the community.