Kogi state project office of Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), a World Bank assisted initiative, has been described as a shining star in Nigeria.
Dr. Amos Abu, World Bank Technical Team Lead, made this known in Lokoja on Thursday during an executive session with Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.
Abu called on other states to understudy Kogi project office’s mode of operation and project execution.
According to Dr Abu, the project is a World Bank assisted effort aimed at addressing Nigeria’s gully erosion sites in southern and northern Nigeria.
He commended Kogi State Government for providing enabling environment and the needed counterpart funding which he said has been the catalyst to the project acceleration in areas like Ofante-Adupi erosion management site in Kogi East and Agassa in Kogi Central.
He disclosed that the World Bank and NEWMAP team would be on some days tour of the project sites to assess level of work done so far. He added that other sites in Ankpa, Dekina and Adavi local government areas have been added to the sites which would receive attention.
Governor Bello, represented by his Deputy, Chief Edward Onoja, commended the World Bank and NEWMAP teams for executing top quality projects in the state.
He noted that statistics from the various areas where the projects were executed contributed in no small measure in to their success during the last governorship election, which according to him, shows how impactful the projects have been perceived by the people of the communities where it is cited.
He pledged the commitment of his administration to do more in the area of counterpart funding and appealed to the team to capture the river banks in Lokoja, the state capital, which is in pitiable state due to the falls from the Mount Patti. He stated that such intervention would seize the landscape of the city from further depreciation.
