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A plan by Nigeria's government to dredge the River Niger will be opposed by people of the Niger Delta because of the adverse ecological impact it is likely to have, 'The Guardian' daily reported a community group from the area as saying on Thursday.
The Ijaw Economic Monitoring Group (IEMOG) said dredging the river would
aggravate flooding and erosion in the region, which is already burdened with environmental degradation caused by oil production activities.
In 1998, the government of then military ruler General Abdulsalami Abubakar had awarded a contract to dredge the river from Baro in the central region to the delta with the aim of improving river navigation. But environmental groups opposed the project because no prior impact assessment had been carried out as required by law.
The government has since ordered an impact assessment study. However, IEMOG's coordinator, Joseph Evah, said communities in the Niger Delta region would prefer to see the government develop the rail system to improve transportation instead of dredging the river.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions