Group appeals to FG to re-name Zungeru Dam

A group, Coalition of Shiroro Associations, has called on the federal government to change the name of the 700 Hydroelectric Power Station Dam, being constructed in Niger state, from Zungeru Dam to Shiroro Dam II.

The group stated that the dam which measures about 233 metres (764 ft) in length and 101 metres (331 ft) in height is located “in Shiroro according to the report of the Dam’s Environmental Impacts Assessment Team.”

A statement issued by the group’s spokesperson, Salis M. Sabo, on Thursday, indicated that the error was made by a United States firm, Messrs Chas T. Main International, that conducted the first feasibility in 1982.

It read in part, “The foreign experts who came to look into the possibility of constructing another dam following the directional flow of Shiroro Dam I could not understand the difficult terrain of the land. They also could not at that time find any shelter in the hamlets and thatched settlements that were close to the location of the dam, which were generally under Shiroro local government.

“Therefore, their next place of resort for shelters was Zungeru which was once the capital of the then Northern Protectorate. There, the foreign workers found a railway station and other amenities which could aid their activities, and that is why they made Zungeru the centre of their operations; hence, the name Zungeru Dam.”

The group lamented that the continued use of the name, Zungeru Dam, even after facts pointed at the contrary, “cannot longer be excusable.”

They, therefore, appealed to the Niger state government and all stakeholders to come to the rescue of the people of Shiroro in ensuring that the name, Zungeru Dam, “is changed to Shiroro Dam II and to also ensure that our rights and privileges as a people are not short-changed.”