By Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

Residents of Abaji Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were elated on Tuesday to behold the Minister of State for the FCT, Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable development Goals (SSAP-SDGs) Princes Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire cut the tape to commission a water plant meant to serve the council.

Works on the water plant, meant to serve nine communities and the FCT University Of Science and Technology under construction in Abaji, began in 2009, but was abandoned until the intervention of the office of the SSAP on SDGs under the Conditional Grant Scheme (CGS).

Addressing the elated residents, who gathered to witness the commissioning of a project initiated about 11 years ago, Orelope-Adefulire said: “This laudable project that we are commissioning today was commenced under the 2009 MDGs (millennium development goals) intervention, but could not be completed due to ‘paucity of funds.

“As part of our commitment to the SDGs, we counterpart funded this project under the 2017 SDGs-CGS to FCT. The project is aimed at providing portable water in Abaji and nine other neighboring communities, including Nuku village, Naharati, the proposed Abuja University of Technology, Abaji among others.

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“Evidently, this noble initiative is directly linked to the achievement of SDG-3 on ‘Quality Health and Well-being for all at all ages’ and SDG-6 on ‘Clean water and sanitation for all.”

The SSAP-SDGs noted that for Nigeria to make significant progress in the implementation of the SDGs, “we must carefully mainstream and integrate the SDGs into our national and sub-national policies and development plans. The SDGs cannot be achieved through standalone programme and projects.

She explaind that the Conditional Grant Scheme (CGS) was initially introduced during the MDGs era in 2007 and has remained one of the unique mechanisms being used to fast track the achievement of the SDGs in Nigeria.

“It is an initiative embedded on trust and partnership amongst the Federal, States and Local Governments,” said, while urging residents of Abaji to own the water plant and protect it from vandals.

The FCT Minister of State said the completion and commissioning of the project was in line with the President MUhammadu Buhari administration’s commitment to ensuring that abandoned project were completed and put to the use of the people.

Aliyu assured that the government was willing to provide more infrastuctural facilities for the people and urged residents of the FCT not to engage in vandalising public property under any guise.

Also at the event were the FCT Permanent Secretary, Olusade Adesola; Chairman, Abaji Area Council, Abdulrahman Ajiya and the traditional head (the Ona) of Abaji, His Royal Majesty (HRM) Alhaji Adamu Baba Yunusa.