The NBA Executive Secretariat is, together with its member countries and Partners, organizing the Regional Steering Committee (RSC) of Projects and Programmes being implemented from 14th to 16th November, 2023 at Tsukunda House in Abuja, Nigeria. The RSC will be followed by two workshops on: i) the validation of the legal text of the Regional Climate Change Adaptation Fund (RCCAF) in the Niger Basin from 17th to 18th November, 2023, and ii) Sensitizing decision-makers and climate products and information users in the Niger Basin from 20th to 22nd November, 2023. Participants to those various meetings will include Representatives from member countries, Executives of the NBA Executive Secretariat, Representatives of the PIDACC/NB, NB-ITTAS, WRDSEMP-APL2A, GIZ “Support to NBA” and AGES Projects, and Representatives of dams, the Regional Coordinating Unit of Users of the Niger Basin’s Natural Resources, and the Nigerian National Coordinating Unit of Users of the Niger Basin’s Natural Resources.
The opening ceremony of this series of meetings was chaired by Engr. Prof. Joseph T. UTSEV, Honourable Federal Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation of Nigeria, the NBA Supervising Minister. This opening ceremony was marked by 4 speeches, namely those of the Coordinator of the NBA National Focal Structure in Nigeria, the Representative of the German Embassy to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the NBA Executive Secretary and finally the opening address by the Honourable Federal Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation of Nigeria.
From the interventions, we note the sincere thanks to Nigeria for agreeing to host these workshops, encouragement to the Executive Secretariat in the implementation of the activities despite the security and political conditions prevailing in the basin, and the Technical and Financial Partners’ support to the NBA.
The RSC meeting from 14th to 16th November, 2023 will have to rule on the status of the implementation of the 2023 Work Plan activities as at 30th September and on the 2024 Work Plan of the various projects mentioned above.
The workshop on the RCCAF/NB legal document aims at reviewing the document for its validation by countries.
As for the 3rd meeting, it aims at sensitizing the Niger Basin decision-makers and climate products and information users.