The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA), Prince Ebitimi Amgbare, has launched the NDBDA Waterways Sanitation Corps (NDBDA-WSC) in Bayelsa State as part of activities marking World Rivers Day 2026.
The launch, held at the NDBDA Area Office in Yenagoa, featured a river clean-up exercise at Oxbow Lake, Swali, with the initiative focused on protecting waterways, reducing pollution and strengthening community participation in the sustainable management of the Niger Delta’s water resources.
Key Highlights
- NDBDA launches the Waterways Sanitation Corps in Bayelsa State.
- About 100 pioneer Corps members were inaugurated as River Guardians.
- The initiative is community-based, youth-driven and women-inclusive.
- Corps members will tackle plastics, water hyacinth, debris and illegal dumping.
- The initiative includes mangrove and bamboo planting along degraded riverbanks.
- River Guardians will collect data on pollution hotspots, water quality and flood risks.
- NDBDA says clean waterways are essential to the Niger Delta’s Blue Economy.
- ACWCN members were also formally inaugurated into the Waterways Sanitation Corps.
NDBDA Launches Waterways Sanitation Corps in Bayelsa
Speaking at the event, Amgbare said the World Rivers Day 2026 theme, “No Forests, No Rivers, No Water, No Life,” resonates strongly with the Niger Delta, where rivers and creeks play central roles in transportation, fishing, farming and community life.
“From the confluence of the Niger and Benue at Lokoja to the creeks of Bayelsa, our rivers are not just waterways; they are our highways, our markets, our farms, our identity. World Rivers Day reminds us that if our rivers die, we die,” he said.
The MD stressed that the Blue Economy does not begin at the Atlantic Ocean but in the forest, noting that the Niger Delta’s rivers and creeks sustain millions of people across riverine communities.
NDBDA Warns Against Threats to Niger Delta Rivers
Amgbare said the Niger Delta’s mangroves, which he described as the largest in Africa, play important roles in filtering water, storing blue carbon and supporting fisheries.
He, however, identified plastic pollution, crude oil spills, open defecation, illegal dumping, deforestation and water hyacinth invasion as major threats to the region’s waterways.
“The link is simple: No Forests, No Mangroves; No Mangroves, No Rivers; No Rivers, No Fish; No Fish, No Life. If we fail our rivers, we fail our ocean. If we fail our ocean, we fail our economy,” he said.
About 100 River Guardians Inaugurated
The NDBDA Waterways Sanitation Corps was established as a community-based, youth-driven and women-inclusive volunteer initiative under the Authority’s mandate to manage and develop water resources across the Niger Delta Basin.
The initiative has a vision of making the Niger Delta waterways among the cleanest, safest and most productive waterways in Africa.
About 100 pioneer Corps members drawn from riverine communities across Bayelsa State were inaugurated as eco-guards and River Guardians.
Waterways Sanitation Corps to Tackle Pollution
The Corps members are expected to carry out several activities aimed at protecting waterways and supporting communities.
Their responsibilities include removing floating plastics, water hyacinth and debris from priority waterways, promoting zero dumping and discouraging open defecation around waterways and waterfront markets.
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They will also plant mangrove seedlings and bamboo along degraded riverbanks, while collecting information on pollution hotspots, water quality and flood risks.
The initiative further seeks to link waste management with economic opportunities through recycling and the conversion of organic waste into compost and fish feed.
Quoting International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, Amgbare said: “When we talk about practice, we are talking about people. This Corps is not just about cleaning waterways; it is about powering people.”
NDBDA Seeks Support From Governments and Private Sector
Amgbare called on state governments to adopt Community River Stewardship bye-laws and urged traditional rulers to declare a monthly “No Dumping on Our River Day.”
He also appealed to private sector operators, particularly oil, gas and shipping companies, to support the Waterways Sanitation Corps through corporate social responsibility initiatives.
The NDBDA MD further encouraged young people across the Niger Delta to take ownership of their rivers and participate actively in protecting the waterways.
“From the creeks of Bayelsa to the beaches of Zanzibar, from Limbe to the Diaspora, the message is one: Everyone can be a river steward,” he said.
NDBDA Highlights Climate Change and Marine Resource Protection
In his closing remarks, the Director of Hydrology and Head of Department, Mr Peace Ebbah, underscored the importance of river clean-up exercises.
Ebbah highlighted the dangers posed by uncoordinated human activities to marine resources and livelihoods, while assuring that the Authority was taking proactive measures to address the effects of climate change through reorientation and policy responses.
Blue Economy Advocate Calls for Wider Support
Speaking with journalists after the event, the Special Assistant to the MD on Blue Economy and Convener of the Africa Blue Economy Roundtable (ABER), Dr Piriye Kiyaramo, called on corporate organisations and well-meaning individuals in the Niger Delta to support the newly inaugurated Corps.
He said broader support would help strengthen the initiative and improve efforts to protect the region’s waterways.
ACWCN Members Join Waterways Sanitation Corps
Members of the Association of Coastal and Waterways Communities of Nigeria (ACWCN), Bayelsa State Chapter, led by the State Chairman, Snr. Comr. Odede Dinikpete Tina, were also formally inaugurated into the Waterways Sanitation Corps.
More than 50 ACWCN members joined the initiative.
Dinikpete Tina thanked the NDBDA management for including the association in the programme, describing the inauguration as a milestone in ACWCN’s commitment to protecting waterways and safeguarding coastal communities.
“This inauguration is not just an honour; it is a call to greater responsibility and service to our people and our environment,” she said.
NDBDA Links Clean Rivers to Blue Economy
The launch of the Waterways Sanitation Corps reinforces the NDBDA’s emphasis on community participation in protecting the Niger Delta’s waterways.
The initiative places river clean-up, pollution monitoring, restoration of degraded riverbanks and environmental awareness at the centre of its community-based approach to water resource management.
