By Victoria Ojeme & Funmi Olasupo
ABUJA—Nigeria may likely fail in its bid to upgrade its national electricity grid to 760Mw, if it continued to neglect the three proposed dams earmarked for the project, Minister of Water Resources, Chief Obadiah Ando, has warned.

The minister, who made this disclosure while briefing newsmen as part of activities marking the 9th summit of Heads of State and Government of the Niger Basin Authority, NBA, commencing in Abuja tomorrow, lamented that power supply in the country might be further hampered if decisive measures were not taken to ensure the conservation of three separate dams located outside Nigeria.

The three dams, according to him, are Taoussa dam project located in Mali, Fomi dam located in Guinea and Kandaji located in Niamey, Niger Republic.

Consequently, the Federal Government yesterday said it would also rehabilitate Kainji dam and Jebba hydro-plant to their maximum capacities.

He maintained that it was in cognisance of this fact that the scheduled summit was being convened with a view to fashioning out ways of harmonising strategies with sub-regional organizations from the concerned countries, in order to ensure that the 760-mega watts agenda of Goodluck Jonathan’s administration was realised.

According to him, “over 30 million people living along the River Niger will be discussed for its sustainability, especially as it relates to funding.”

He stated that some of the projects physically situated in Nigeria include rehabilitation of the Kainji dam to restore its normal operation and secure both power production to a maximum capacity of 760 mega watt and to enhance harmonization of production units, upgrading dam safety equipment, NBA/GEF project “reversing land and water degradation trends in the river Niger Basin, the Niger Hycos project, the silting control programme in the River Niger Basin, SCP/RNB.

Others are the project “development of water resources and sustainable management of ecosystem” in the River Niger Basin and the project “support to creation of the observatory of the environment of the River Niger Basin.

He explained that the problem of human pressure had also played adverse role in the changing fortunes of the River Niger, thereby making it necessary for government in the region to take drastic measures, such as damming, aimed at maximizing access to the waters of the Niger.

Chief Ando said the summit will, among others, discuss how the negative impacts on Nigeria could be minimized

He said that, the objective of this sub-regional Organisation among others are, to harmonize and coordinate policies for the development of the resources of the Basin.

Planning and development of the Basin through the development plan of the Basin and to design, achieve, exploit and maintain common infrastructure and projects.

“Rehabilitation of the kainji dam to restore its normal operation and secure both power production to a maximum capacity of 760