Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe, has called for early commencement of processes for effective reservoir management to mitigate possible effects of excessive rainfall in 2013.
At a strategic meeting for performance and agenda setting, an annual two-day retreat for the sector in Abuja yesterday, the minister commended President Goodluck Jonathan for his prompt response to the challenges posed by the unprecedented floods, which affected many states in 2012.
The Minister on behalf of the ministry commended the President? for his leadership and support? to the sector, saying that “We are grateful for the special funds approved for the completion of the Gurara Multipurpose Dam, the Middle Rima irrigation project and for the immediate replacement and rehabilitation of hydrological equipment like data capturing platforms, telemetric station and staff gauging and logging stations damaged during the floods as well as? upgrading the GIS Data acquisition system across the country.”
Ochekpe stated that the purpose of the retreat was “to have an in house review of their performance and account to each other before reporting to the President and the Federal Executive Council (FEC), while using the opportunity to set agenda for 2013.” She added that having worked hard in 2012, the water family will work much harder to surpass their targets for 2013.
“Some of the reasons for convening the review meeting early in the year was predicated on the end of year events in 2012, which had left them demoralised as sectoral presentations had already commenced in other ministries with the ministry slated to present on January 2013 among.”