House of Representatives has directed the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to include the dredging, desilting and rehabilitation of Goronyo dam, Sokoto State in the 2024 Budget estimates.
This followed a motion by a member from Sokoto State Alhaji Bashiru Usman Gorau, on the need for the Dredging, Desilting and Rehabilitation of Goronyo Dam adopted by the house.
Presenting the motion Alhaji bashir Gorau, described the Goronyo Dam as the second largest earth Dam in northern Nigeria in impounding the Rima River to hold approximately 1 billion cubic meters of water for domestic and farming activities.
He said the Dam provides water for four million people thereby supporting Agricultural production, fishing activities, as well as the development of Irrigation projects such as the Middle Rima Irrigation and FADAMA Irrigation Projects among others.
The lawmaker also expressed worried over significant reduction in the dam’s storage capacity, moving to less than 10% of its original capacity, thus, leading to severe water shortages in Sokoto and Kebbi States.
Mover of the motion however, confirmed that a Report released by the Federal Ministry of Environment recently inlcudes Goronyo Community as one of the flood prone areas due to expected heavy rainfall which may result in loss of
human and animal lives, disruption of socio-economic activities and the risk of disease outbreak.
He emphasized that failure to take immediate action could exacerbate the situation leading to complete drying up of the dam or flooding that would have dire consequences for the more than 4 million people who rely on the dam for their water supply and other basic needs.
Alhaji Gorau urged the Ministry of Water Resources to promptly initiate a dredging and desalting exercise of Goronyo Dam to restore its storage capacity and create more employment opportunities for thousands of youth in Sokoto and Kebbi States.
Adopting the motion, the house mandated its Committee on Water Resources invite the ministry of environment for proper environment analysis to ensure implementation of the house resolutions.
COV /TSIBIRI
