The Managing Director/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 took place at the NDBDA Area Office in Yenagoa and included a river clean-up exercise at Oxbow Lake, Swali. This year’s World Rivers Day theme was “No Forests, No Rivers, No Water, No Life.”
Speaking at the event, Prince Amgbare said the theme was especially relevant to the Niger Delta, where rivers and creeks are central to the lives and livelihoods of the people.
“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,” he said.
He stressed that the Blue Economy begins on land and depends on healthy rivers, noting that the Niger Delta’s rivers and creeks support millions of people, including fishing communities across Bayelsa State.
According to him, the region’s mangroves, which are the largest in Africa, help protect water quality, store carbon and support fisheries. However, they face growing threats from plastic waste, oil spills, open defecation, illegal dumping, deforestation and water hyacinth.
Prince Amgbare said the NDBDA is moving from policy to practical action by establishing the Waterways Sanitation Corps, a community-based initiative involving young people and women.
The Corps aims to make the Niger Delta’s waterways cleaner, safer and more productive. About 100 pioneer members from riverine communities across Bayelsa were inaugurated as Eco-Guards and River Guardians.
Their responsibilities include removing plastics, water hyacinth and other waste from waterways; promoting proper waste disposal; planting mangroves and bamboo along degraded riverbanks; monitoring pollution and flood risks; and turning waste into useful products such as recycled materials, compost and fish feed.
“When we talk about practice, we are talking about people. This Corps is not just about cleaning waterways; it is about powering people,” Prince Amgbare said, quoting IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez.
The NDBDA boss called on state governments to introduce community river protection laws, traditional rulers to support monthly “No Dumping on Our River Day” campaigns, and oil, gas and shipping companies to support the Corps through their corporate social responsibility programmes.
He also urged young people to take ownership of their rivers, saying: “Everyone can be a river steward.”
The Director of Hydrology and Head of Department, Mr. Peace Eba, said river clean-up exercises were important in protecting marine resources and the livelihoods of communities. He added that the Authority was taking steps to address the effects of climate change through public awareness and policy action.
Also speaking, the Special Assistant to the MD on Blue Economy and Convener of the Africa Blue Economy Roundtable (ABER), Dr. Piriye Kiyaramo, appealed to corporate organisations and individuals in the Niger Delta to support the new Corps.
Members of the Association of Coastal and Waterways Communities of Nigeria (ACWCN), Bayelsa State Chapter, led by its State Chairman, Snr. Comr. Odede Dinikpete Tina, were also formally inaugurated into the Corps.
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