The Federal Government has inaugurated the Rafin Yashin Multipurpose Dam in Minna, Niger State.
 
Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, who inaugurated the dam yesterday, called for more collaboration between states and the private sector, especially in the area of irrigation and water supply.
 
The minister emphasised that it was the desire of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to ensure food security in the country, and that no effort would be spared to achieve the target.
 
Initiated by the Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority, he project is aimed at providing water for Songhai Integrated Farm and Rafin Yashi Irrigation Project as a deliberate effort by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation to boost food production in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Tinubu.
 
Personal Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Minister, Terhemen Oraduen, stated, yesterday, that his principal had earlier visited Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago, during which he informed the governor that the Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority, with its headquarters in Minna, had dams in different locations across the state that could be used for irrigation farming and water supply for the benefit of the people of Niger and the country in general.
 
Responding, the Deputy Governor, Yakubu Garba, expressed the state’s readiness to collaborate with the Federal Government.
  
According to him, despite possessing dams, the state faces the challenge of fully utilising them due to limited resources. 
 
He appealed to the minister to support the state in addressing water challenges and urged assistance in constructing additional water works for irrigation farming, as well as for consumption, to tackle water scarcity in certain communities and enhance the economy.