Communities of a riverine area in Shagari Local Government of Sokoto State, have appealed to the
Federal Government to complete the Shagari irrigation dam project.
Speaking to newsmen in the area, a concerned member of one of the communities, Malam Chika from illelar Dan bore village said twenty nine communities were affected and hundreds of households were displaced as a result of the thirty four kilometres irrigation dam project in the area.
Malam Chika regretted that after more than fourteen years of completion of the one thousand hectare
irrigation dam, the aims of the project was defeated due to lack of irrigation canals and other facilities for irrigation farming.
The concerned member of the community said some of the affected villages include Gangam, Tudun Lona, Rugar Buda, Kauran Marafa, Takalmawa,
Lambara, Illelar-Dabore and Dundeji, Gidan Baura, Gidan Tudu and Badiyawa,
Dorowa, among others.
Also speaking to newsmen, a cross section of the inhabitants of the area said
payment of compensation to the affected
households was not completed when the dam was completed by the federal government in 2007.
The affected communities also called for the construction of crossover bridges across the dam, to prevent the recurring incidents of boat mishaps.
It would be recalled that twenty nine people were drowned last week in the dam.
When contacted, the Executive Director, Engineering, Sokoto Rima River Development Authority of the FG, Mr Abubakar Magana, told our correspondent in Sokoto that, plans have been concluded to complete the irrigation scheme.
Also, the Executive Director, Planning, Mr Bashir Bala-Zango
said that the federal government has earmarked over N80million naira for the
payment of compensation to the affected households.
Bala-Zango said that the first batch of payment of forty milllion naira was done to
317 persons in Illelar-Dabore and Lokoko villages, in 2020.
According to him, twenty million naira has been provided in the 2022 budget stressing that they are waiting for a cash backing to commence the payment.
He added that arrangements have been concluded to commence the payment as soon as possible,while the third batch will also get twenty million naira.
NASIR MALALI
