The President, who led seven ministers to an interactive meeting with the UNESCO chief, said Nigeria and the other countries of the Lake Chad Basin lacked the billions of dollars required to channel water from the Congo Basin into the lake to check its rapid depletion.
Browsing: Lake Chad
The new Nigerian president, who promised to tackle the problem of climate change in his inaugural speech, has spun a compelling narrative on the disappearing Lake Chad, the environment around the Chad basin and how these have become the problem of the economy of the neighboring states through the failure of agriculture and joblessness which in turn have provided an easy recruitment into violent extremism
Addressing a high level meeting on: “Climate Change Challenges and Solutions in Africa,” on the sidelines of the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference, COP 21, President Buhari said no fewer than five million people living in the Lake Chad Basin countries have been displaced by the depletion of the lake due to climate change
The Minister of Communications, Hassan Sylla Bakari, said the state of emergency would empower the governor of the region to prohibit the movement of people and vehicles and order searches of homes during the day and night
He said: “As a member of the Lake Chad Basin Commission Summit of Heads of State and Governments, the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been giving maximum support to Lake Chad Basin Commission to ensure the discharge of its mandate in addition to funding the Lake Chad Basin Commission ordinary annual budget through the funding formula to which Nigeria contributes 40 per cent; Niger seven per cent; Libya 18 per cent; Chad 11 per cent; Cameroon 20 per cent; and Central African Republic four per cent
The National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, led the security chiefs to the Defence Guest House, Maitama, Abuja, where the meeting was held for about 90 minutes
Colonel Salaou Barmou said 14 Boko Haram assailants were also killed in the fighting Friday night
Usman, who disclosed this while speaking on the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources said Nigeria did not only neglect the sustenance of the important water body but also allowed indiscriminate construction of dams on five rivers which hitherto supplied water to Lake Chad