The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, says Goronyo Dam is safe from associated flooding risk and has capacity to provide 80,000 jobs to farming families.
Utsev disclosed this when he led a team of the Inter-Ministerial Technical Committee on Evaluation of Dams in Nigeria to Goronyo Dam in Sokoto state on Tuesday.
Represented by Mrs Oluwatosin Abiola, the Deputy Director of Dams in the ministry, Utsev said the visit was part of efforts to curtail any unforeseen circumstances on the existence of the dam.
The minister said that many dams in Nigeria are ageing and require maintenance as well as upgrades, hence the visit to various dams for assessment.
He explained that a technical sub-committee chaired by the Director of Dams and Reservoir Operations had been constituted including officials from the National Security Adviser (NSA) office to conduct the exercise.
He observed that Goronyo dam is safe with its structures in proper condition.
According to him, the Dam has 943 million cubic meters capacity, 5.2 Km primary embankment, 1.3 Km Secondary embankment, 15 Km emergency spillway and 200 Km natural reservoir.
He further explained that the Dam has gateways and is designed to dissilt itself as well as a 500 Km underground reservoir along with other spillways and irrigation canals.
He said that the dam has 5,000 hectares of irrigation land that could provide jobs to about 80,000 people besides fishing activities and supplying water for treatment purposes.
According to him, 3,017 hectares have been developed already while others are underway with phases of irrigation schemes that have started since 1979.
Utsev added that the Dam has the capacity of hydroelectric generation and other economic purposes which would be considered by the committee’s findings.
He stressed the need for increased investment in dams to ensure maximum utilization for food production and other economic purposes in the country.
Members of the team are taken around the dam by the Managing Director of Sokoto Rima Basin Development Authority (SRBDA), Mr Buhari Bature.
The team’s evaluation is expected to provide valuable insights into the current state of Nigeria’s dam infrastructure as well as help in informing future policy decisions related to flood control and water resource management.
