The Managing Director of Lower Niger River Basin Authority, LNRBA, Ilorin, Kwara State, North Central, Nigeria, Dr. Adeniyi Aremu has emphasised the protection of rivers in Nigeria.

He stated this in Ilorin during the celebration of the 2023 World Rivers Day with the theme “The Incredible Natural Cultural and Re-creational Values of Rivers and Streams in our Communities”

Speaking on the sidelines of the programme, Dr. Aremu admonished Nigerians to cultivate the habit of maintaining clean water bodies, which, according to him, is tantamount to clean behaviours.

According to him, the day is commemorated in recognition of the incredible natural, cultural, and recreational values of rivers and streams, as well as to the extent to which they add to quality of life.

He disclosed that the celebration is intended to draw attention to Nigeria’s ricers that are in degraded states and facing increasing pressures associated with pollution, industrial development, urbanisation, and climate change mostly due to human activities.

The Managing Director warned that untreatable emerging pollutants from polluted rivers and water bodies go back to the community for consumption, thereby raising global concerns on increasing public health effects attributed to water pollution.

He therefore “appealed to Nigerians to stop all negative activities that constitute a barrier on water flow in the river and encourage regular cleaning of our drainage and desilting of our rivers channel.”

According to him, one of the reasons for choosing the Oja-Iya River is that it is one of the main tributaries to Asa River, which is the main source of water to Ilorin metropolis.

The LNRBA boss emphasised the need to bring the attention of the public to the effect of pollutants that are dumped into the river and are eventually consumed by the community.

In his remarks at the ceremony, the Kwara Commissioner for Environment and Tourism, Sheu Ahmed quoted the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, that some 11 million tones of plastic waste flow annually into oceans and river.

The Commissioner stated that studies have also shown that by the year 2050, the number of plastic wastes in rivers will be more than number of fishes and other marine animals lamenting that the rate of progress to meet the target of SDGs in 2030 is too slow.

He called for concerted efforts to achieve the target.

Also speaking, the Magaji of Oja-Iya community, Isiaka Awokegba, commended the Authority for the sensitisation of the community on the importance of Rivers and need to protect it

He appealed to the government for provision of proper refuse disposal across the community so as to prevent people from dumping refuse in the rivers.