By Fatima Saka
The Senate Committee on Water Resources, chaired by Senator Kenneth Eze, on Thursday reviewed the budget performance and 2026 proposals of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), highlighting the urgent need for adequate funding to strengthen water resources management nationwide.
Appearing before the committee, Umar Ibrahim Mohammed, Director-General/CEO of NIHSA, detailed the agency’s past budget allocations, capital releases, and internally generated revenue (IGR), while emphasizing operational challenges affecting service delivery.
“The agency was allocated N1.746 billion in the 2024 Appropriation Act and N4.154 billion in the abridged 2025 budget, totaling N5.898 billion. However, challenges such as inadequate funding, limited office accommodation, equipment vandalization, and insufficient operational vehicles hinder our capacity to deliver effectively,” he stated.
Mohammed explained that NIHSA, established under the 2010 Act, is responsible for the assessment and management of Nigeria’s water resources, including quantity, quality, availability, and hydrological hazards. The agency provides critical data for projects related to irrigation, power generation, agriculture, dam construction, and flood and drought forecasting, serving both public and private sector stakeholders.
During the session, senators raised concerns over the delayed submission of budget documents, which Mohammed attributed to the abridged 2025 budget requiring separate analysis for 2024, 2025, and 2026 proposals. Despite the delay, he reassured the committee of NIHSA’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
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The committee urged the agency to explore additional avenues for IGR generation while requesting increased budgetary support to enable full implementation of its capital projects across Nigeria’s river basins.
The Senators emphasized that adequate funding for NIHSA is critical to mitigating billions of Naira lost annually to hydrological hazards and ensuring sustainable national development.
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