Channelization work has conmmenced on the Asa River in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, North Central Nigeria to boost transportation system and check flooding.
A Nigerian government official says dredging of the river will go a long way in preventing loss of lives and property witnessed in the past, as a result of flooding.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Bukola Saraki, said the dredging work would also boost economic activities within the country.
Providing alternative transport system
The channelization is part of government’s efforts geared towards providing alternative means of moving goods from one part of the country to another.
In a chat with reporters after attending a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) meeting in the Ajikobi central ward, Senator Saraki, who is a former governor of Kwara State, said that the Senate would ensure that the project was completed as soon as possible.
He assured Nigerians that his committee would, through its oversight function, ensure that devastating flood, as witnessed in 2012, was prevented through proper monitoring of the activities of various ministries and relevant agencies of the government, responsible for flood prevention.
Senator Saraki said the government had set up a presidential committee on flooding.
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Source: voiceofnigeria.org; March 18, 2013