Njaba River (also Njaba), in the Niger Delta Basin is a major tributary of Oguta Lake in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

's South East

Imo State Imo () is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its name from the Imo R ...

. With 4.5m mean depth, the river has a total stream length of 78.2 km, basin area of 145.63 square kilometers and an average specific discharge of about 1700 m3/hour.

Flow

Njaba flows in an almost east-western direction, taking off from Amucha and Ekwe passing through several towns including Okwudor,

Awo-Omamma Awo-Omamma (also Awo-Omamma), in the northeast of the Niger Delta basin, is an oil-rich indigenous Igbo people, Igbo town on the banks of Njaba River. It is a potential tourism hub in the region due to its species of wildlife in Umuezukwe and g ...

and Mgbidi before emptying into Oguta Lake.

Oil and Gas

Some of the oil fields in the river basin include Ossu, Izombe and Njaba operated under ChevronTexaco’s OML 53 and Addax Petroleum's OML 124 both in Izombe. OML 124 contains another undeveloped Njaba 2 well onshore

discovered December 2008 in the town of

. According to Addax Petroleum, there are also several identified exploration prospects yet to be drilled and tested around Njaba. The field could become one of the company's largest fields in Nigeria. In line with directive of the

Federal Government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

of Nigeria to stop gas flaring by year 2008, a plan has been underway to develop a gas processing plant in the river basin under Izombe Integrated Gas Processing Project.

Oil Palm Trade

Njaba River towns including

Oguta Oguta is a town on the east bank of Oguta Lake in Imo State of southeastern Nigeria. Oguta is called "Oguta-Ameshi" or "Ameshi"- by its aborigines. Indigenes - consists of two parts, the old part which holds the 27 villages of Oguta, and the ...

, Mgbidi, Osemotor and

were once important centres of trade. After the abolition of the slave trade in 1830, there was an oil palm tree in the river basin as a source of cash. Oil mill factories were established in many communities including

Umuezukwe Umuezukwe is an ancient trade route, a river port, and a farming community in Awo-Omamma, northeast of the Niger Delta region, Nigeria's South East, Imo State. It is one of the densely populated Awo-Omamma rural settlements in the Njaba River basi ...

oil mill located near the waterfront in

Awo-omamma Awo-Omamma (also Awo-Omamma), in the northeast of the Niger Delta basin, is an oil-rich indigenous Igbo people, Igbo town on the banks of Njaba River. It is a potential tourism hub in the region due to its species of wildlife in Umuezukwe and g ...

. By 1903 exports in the oil trade increased due to new waterways developed to move the products to the coast.

Economy, Environment, and Infrastructure

Fishermen, fish landing sites and fishing cooperatives exist in many

communities; some are found in villages of

, Abiaziem, Nnebukwu, and Nkwesi in the Njaba River basin, including the Udoka Fish Farmers Group,

and Kalabari Beach Fishermen Coop. Society, Oguta. Their landing sites include

(Ughamiri), Umudei, K-beach, Osse Abiaziem and Osemotor located in

and

villages. These farmers experience economic constraints that militate against efficient operation of their fish and crop farming activities. Intervention is needed to solve many of these infrastructure and environmental issues in the villages of

, Izombe,

, the greater oil-rich river basin and many other farming communities in

. Assistance is needed in development of motorable access roads to these fishing villages and ports such as

, Ubahaeze, Abiaziem, Izombe et al. as well as in support of modern fish and crop processing activities through electricity generation and agricultural subsidies On Monday, January 28, 2013, angry youths protested the State Government’s insensitivity to plight of their people whose roads linking

to Okwudor and other neighbouring communities, they alleged had been abandoned for years by successive administrations in the state. Like many other areas of the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

, the continuous flaring of gases at flow stations constitutes a threat to ambient air in the area. It is projected that upon completion, Izombe Gas Processing Plant would be a major inland gas processing hub for most stranded gas within Njaba River axis.

References

{{reflist Oil fields of Nigeria Rivers of Nigeria Inner Niger Delta Geography of Nigeria Imo State