Kaduna state govt. pays N500m counterpart fund to check erosion — Ganduje

Kano State Government says it has paid a counterpart fund of N500 million to the Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) for erosion control in some parts of the state.

This was contained in a statement signed and issued to newsmen in Kano on Monday by Alhaji Balarabe Abdullahi, the Public Relations Officer in the Office of the Deputy Governor.

The statement quoted Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje to have said this during the inauguration of the Gandu-Tukuntawa-Zoo Road Erosion and Flood Control Project executed by the Federal Government.

Ganduje, who was reportedly represented at the event by his deputy, Dr. Nasiru Gawuna, said that the erosion control was part of the collective engagement between the federal government and World Bank.

He added that his administration had constructed 65 drainages across the 44 local government areas of the state to ensure sustainable yearly desilting of major and minor drainages to avert flooding in the state.

He said: “To this end, Kano state government has employed over 1,000 sanitation workers, called Sanitation Vanguards, for effective implementation of public health laws plus 100 Forest Guards to manage forest formation.”

He further explained that the administration purchased 86 refuse collection tippers and two bulldozers at the cost of N1.4 billion and N47.5 million, respectively, “for sustained refuse evacuation by Refuse Management and Sanitation Board.”

He commended the Federal Government for its commitment towards the establishment of secondary effluent treatment at Challawa, Sharada and Bompai Industrial Estates.

He therefore charged the people of the affected communities to cherish the laudable project and safeguard it against abuse.

Earlier, Oseni said the project was one of the ecological interventions approved by President Muhammadu Buhari to check erosion, flooding and improve the environmental condition of the area.