River Niger drying up, FG warns

Acting Auditor of the Federation, Mrs Florence Anyanwu, has raised the alarm that River Niger is drying up.
To save the river, the Federal Government, along with countries bordering the River Niger, has approved an environmental audit of the river.
Anyanwu disclosed this to newsmen at the end of the 6th Annual Meeting of African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions Working Group on Environmental Audit (AFROSAI WGEA) yesterday in Abuja.
She said drying up of the river poses social, environmental and economic treat to the communities bordering the river.
“Talks are ongoing on the cooperative environmental audit project on River Niger by Niger Basin Authority consisting of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’ Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Nigeria,” she said.
When completed, the environmental audit will afford governments information they need to save the river from further deterioration as well as ensure its continued benefit to bordering communities.