Nigerian is hosting Extraordinary Council of Ministers of the Niger Basin Authority with a call for member countries to show more commitment to funding the commission to enable it exercise its mandates and objectives. Minister for water resources, Suleiman Adamu gave the charge at the Extraordinary Session of Niger Basin Authority’s council of ministers holding in Abuja.
The Niger Basin Authority comprises nine member countries, namely, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Nigeria. Originally established in 1964 as the Niger River Commission with the task of coordinating and providing information on various development projects of the Niger basin, it was reconstituted in 1980 as the Niger Basin Authority.
Its mandates include promoting cooperation between member countries sharing the active water shed of the River Niger in the areas of Energy, Water, Agriculture, Livestock development and fish farming. To make the organization come alive with its responsibility, Nigeria is charging member countries on funding the basin authority.
