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Tag: water

  • Cross River votes N2.4b for water

    Cross River votes N2.4b for water

    The Cross River State government yesterday awarded a N2.4 billion contract for the construction and expansion of the Okpoma,  Yala water scheme.

    This is coming barely a month after the government awarded contracts for two other water schemes, including the Phase 2 of the Ikom Water Project.

    Speaking during the contract award signing ceremony yesterday, the Commissioner for Water Resources, Engr Elemi Etowa said this was part of efforts to attain the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of providing  potable water to over 80 per cent of its populace.

    Etowa said: “All the necessary facilities in terms of funding needed to actualise the remaining water projects have been secured from donor agencies and we are working towards the full implementation of the various projects within the shortest possible time.

    “At the exit of the Imoke-led administration next year, we will surpass our target of delivering potable water to 80 per cent of the urban populace and 80 per  cent to rural dwellers through our intervention in Rural Water and Sanitation Agency (RUWATSA). “We hope that by the time we commission all the projects earmarked, we would have exceeded this target. We are going to Okpoma and other rural areas to revive lives through the provision of potable water because as they say, water is life. Let me assure Cross Riverians that we will deliver these projects according to specifications and on schedule, none of them will be abandoned.”

    In his remarks, Governor Liyel Imoke, who expressed excitement at the successful implementation of the various water projects across the state, pointed out that “this particular project is very significant because it covers over 14 communities in a very challenging terrain.”

    Stressing the importance of Public Private Partnership (PPP)  of the state government, he said with the policy in the state, “we believe that water projects should be maintained on PPP basis with the engagement of operators who will sustain the scheme as well as ensure quality service delivery to the masses.”

    “I thank the World Bank which is the implementation partner for this particular project and the French Development Bank who came into the state and appreciated what we are doing in the area of water supply and decided to support our modest effort  to provide potable water to the citizenry.”

    While charging the contracting firm to bring its over twenty years of experience in the sector to bear on the execution of the projects by delivering high quality service, Imoke called on the beneficiary communities to give them the necessary support to ensure timely completion of the project.

  • Water: A community’s huge challenge

    Water: A community’s huge challenge

    Sabon-Gurufata community is in Ibwa Ward in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Its greatest challenge is lack of clean water as the only source of water supply in the community is a polluted stream. GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports that there may be an outbreak of cholera if potable water is not provided for the residents. 

    Gabon-Gurufata is a community where nothing works. It lacks almost everything, including water which is one of the basic necessities of life. It is 15 kilometers away from Gwagwalada town. Members of the community settled in Gwagwalada after migrating from Suleja in Niger State in 1945.

    A visit by our correspondent revealed that they have been suffering from complete neglect from successive administrations. Politicians know they exist only when they want to get their votes during elections. They make promises of how they (politicians) will improve the people’s living conditions. But immediately they are voted into office, all promises are forgotten.

    Water boreholes, rural electrification, primary healthcare centres and other basic social amenities to make lives comfortable for the people living in rural communities are lacking as they are not provided as promised by politicians.

    It is obvious that the people are currently at the mercy of an impending outbreak of cholera because of absence of potable water supply in the community. As a result, the people resorted to sourcing water from a dirty stream for survival.

    It was gathered that members of the community are not happy probably because the council chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Jibrin-Giri, has not provided them with any meaningful community project since his assumption of office.

    Chief Haruna Tatobwa, the Chief of Sabon-Gurufata explained that members of the community are going through serious challenges due to the absence of basic social amenities in the community.

    “Our major problem here is potable water supply. We do not have a single borehole in this community. As a result, we lack clean and hygienic water to drink and cook. If I take you inside my house now to show you the water we fetched and stored for domestic use, you will not use it to wash your hands, because of how dirty it is.

    “That is the reason I am very happy that my people have registered for the community-based health insurance scheme. The water we are using in this community is a disease; diseases come from bad water, disease such as cholera and others. When they did not register, we were suffering. We believe that government will come and help us.

    “We have had several cases of outbreak of cholera in this village. Last year, about five children died of cholera disease in this community. Also, six pregnant women lost their lives when they went to the health centre in the other community. They started bleeding and died instantly,” he said.

    According to Tatobwa, potable water and primary healthcare centre are the major needs of his people, even as he regretted that having existed for a very long time in the community, they have not benefited anything from the council, saying that the only thing they had benefit from was the borehole which Senator Phillip Aduda constructed for them and which is completely malfunctioned.

    “I would like the council chairman, Alhaji Jibrin-Giri to assist us with primary healthcare centre and potable water supply. The only road to this community from Gwagwalada town is very bad. During rainy season, you will not be able to go through the road. We are truly suffering here,” he said.

    Mr. Aliyu Jeremiah, the Secretary of the Chief of Sabon-Gurufata also revealed that the only primary healthcare centre in Old Gurufata community, which is the closest healthcare centre to the community, has no medical doctor to take care of patients in the communities. The situation has made life so difficult for the people.

    “We lack everything in this community; we have never benefited anything from the government.  We do not have any borehole in this community; this made us to depend on water from the stream for domestic use. The most painful thing is that the stream is a stagnant one and it is very dirty. We have no choice than to manage it that way.

    “The stream water has caused cholera and other sicknesses to natives of this community, and some people have died through it. In the aspect of electricity, that is a no go area, because since there is no access road to this community, why should we expect electricity?

    “We do not have any government project in this community and I feel very bad to see that we are neglected by the government which we pay tax to.

    “Whenever there is election, they will come here to campaign and solicit for our votes. After voting for them, the elected chairman and councillors will regard this place as too far for them to come and fulfill their electoral promises made to us.

    “Every eligible voter in this community has his or her voter’s card and they all go out to vote during elections. Whenever a chairmanship and councillorship candidate comes here to campaign, they will promise to give us electricity, potable water, health centre and other things that we lack.

    “But, since they continued to make these promises for a very long time, nothing has been provided for members of this community. We do not know how it is to enjoy the dividends of democracy. We have written endless letters to former council chairmen without positive response.

    “We have also written to this present chairman, Alhaji Jibrin-Giri and he said by the grace of God, he will come and sink borehole in the community. But we are yet to see any borehole since then.

    “The truth is that we are not happy with the way we are treated by successive administrations of this council. We voted for them and we expect that we should also get the benefits of democracy as other communities receive. There is nothing like dividends of democracy or government’s presence in the community. It is not right. The present leadership of Gwagwalada Area Council should come to our aid and save us from persistent suffering,” he said.

    The people look on to the Gwagwalada Area Council to lessen their pain by providing them with some basic amenities to make their lives comfortable.

     

  • Water spill sacks Ondo community

    Water spill sacks Ondo community

    Indigenes of Ilaje local government area of Ondo State are pleading with government at all levels and oil companies to come to their aid following a tidewater spill from two rivers in the area which had destroyed no fewer than 200 houses and property worth millions of naira. LEKE AKEREDOLU reports.

    For one month running now, residents of Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje local government area of Ondo State have been battling with a natural disaster that has rendered over 1000 people homeless following a spill of tidewater from Oluwa and Ofala Rivers which surrounds the riverside community.

    The water had submerged several houses, including the palace of the community’s monarch, Olu of Igbokoda, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, and that of the State Commissioner of Environment, Chief Sola Ebiseni. Others houses affected include those of the Caretaker Chairman of Ilaje local government, Hon, Soji Ayenuro, Chief Olusola Oke mother’s house, houses of former NDDC Commissioner, Dr, Ibukun Omotehinse and Hon, Tunde Ayemo.

    Already, Ilaje people, who are naturally living on water have adapted to the disaster as some of them now paddle canoes to their various homes. Children could be seen swimming inside the water  when  The Nation went to the area.

    About 15 quarters have so far been affected. They include Ebiseni Avenue, GRA, Kofawe, Orikiti, Ilu-Church, Up Market, Larada, Kugbene among others.

    It was observed that those who could not withstand the disaster have  relocated to neighbouring communities.

    The river‘s surge has been described by residents as a recurring disaster that happens every 10 to 15 years in the community.

    But, this year’s experience has been described as the worst since the existence of the community.

    According to the Council Chairman, Ayenuro and the Commissioner for Environment, Ebiseni, they have provided accommodation at Holy Trinity Secondary School and Igbokoda High School for those whose homes have been submerged in water.

    Ebiseni, who spoke with The Nation on phone, said the disaster was caused by climate change that normally occurs in the community.

    He noted that Igbokoda was a confluence town between Oluwa and Ofala Rivers, describing the situation as unfortunate.

    He added that his ministry and the council have immediately responded to the disaster by providing accommodation for the victims at Holy Trinity Secondary School and Igbokoda High School.

    Ayenuro, said the community has been taken over by flood due to the fact that all the water channels have been  blocked, adding that with the assistance of Governor Olusegun Mimiko, all that could change.

    The Council boss lamented the attitude of his people who normally empty their wastes and sand into the gutters, thereby preventing free flow of water.

    Ayenuro warned that the natural disaster must not be linked to government neglect of the community, stressing that Mimiko’s administration has impacted a lot on the riverside areas in the state.

    He affirmed that there was no irrigation in the age-long road of Igbokoda which he said could have helped in diverting the water from entering various homes.

    “As you know, Igbokoda is a metropolitan area in Ilaje local government area. More than 80 percent of the habitants of this local government have been affected by the flood.

    “The Olugbo of Ugbo land, Oba Fredrick Akinruntan was here few hours ago to sympathize with me but the reason why I am happy is that when we were appointed, Mr. Governor told us to reside with our people so that the caring heart programme of the state government could be extended to the grassroots.

    “Having been a partaker of this disaster now, I am always happy anytime they call on me that ‘Chairman come and check at my own building,’ I will also tell them to come to my own house and see what the water has destroyed in my place. This is telling you that our government is above all this capitalist agenda.

    “For the past few weeks now, I have been trying my best to make relief materials available for those who have no place to stay. I have created a particular building for them in the council so that they will continue to manage the place. I have seen a man who has seven family members now managing a kiosk. This is really unfortunate.

    “We are calling on government at Federal and State levels, Oil Companies, NDDC and OSOPADEC to come to our aid, and bring us out of this mess. My people are suffering and we are appealing that these people should quickly intervene and save us” Ayenuro said.

  • 70% of Nigerians have access to portable water – Minister

    70% of Nigerians have access to portable water – Minister

    At least seventy percent of Nigerians have access to portable water supply for 24 hours in a day and seven days a week.

    The Minister for Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe stated this on Monday  at the sidelines of the 24th World Water Week  in Stockholm Sweden.
    She said Nigeria is abundantly blessed with enourmous water resources but that her ministry is still working towards ensuring that 100 percent of Nigerians have access to portable drinking water at all times.
    “From our own analysis about 70 percent of Nigerians have access to portable water. But our desire is to see that 100 percent of Nigerian  have access to portable water on a 24 hour bases and seven days a week,” Ochekpe disclosed.
    The World Water Week  which started as a research symposium in 1991, annually draws environmentalists, government officials, intergovernmental agencies, academics, civil society  activists and researchers together to fashion a way whereby affordable portable water will be available globally.
    This year’s theme: Water and Energy is to look at the interdependence of water and energy and how governments all over the world can ensure a balance between the increasing demand for energy and ability to continue to provide portable water supply for the world.
    President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirlief who is also the Grand patron of the Global water Partnership was billed to deliver the keynote address but was absent due to the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in her country.
    In a prepared statement, Sirlief said there is an urgent need to address the issue of water and sanitation especially in the view of the outbreak of the EVD in West Africa.
    According to the World Bank, 2.8billion people live in areas of high water stress while 2.5 people have unreliable or no access to electricity.
    By 2035, the World Bank estimates that energy consumption will increase by 35 percent which will also drive up the demand for water by 85 percent, putting pressure in scarce water resources especially in the developing countries.
    But Ochekpe said while Nigeria is building many more dams to generate hydro power to complement what is derived from thermo and gas energy to boost electricity supply, there is a proportionate use of water for power generation. 
    She said water and power are interdependent as water is important in generating power.
    “Discussions are on to emphasize the importance between energy and water to show the two are important in global development, generally we need water generate energy and we are working on that,” she said.
    She emphazised that with the investment the Nigerian government is making on energy generation, Nigerians will soon witness significant growth in the economy.
    She revealed that her ministry is working  in collaboration with the Ministry of Power, Agriculture and Environment to see how Water and energy can be appropriately utilised without hurting  the other.
    However, the Minister maintained that despite campaigns in some quarters that African countries should not develop hydro Power technology, Nigeria will continue to pursue hydro Power as a solution to her energy crisis.
    She said while Nigeria is blessed with enourmous water Resources, the key is to effectively manage the use of water both for energy, agriculture and consumption.
    “Hydro power is clean and renewable energy, it is less expensive. I don’t think Nigeria will subscribe to that clamour not to do hydro power. We are blessed with a lot of water resources, what will we use the water resources for?
    “What is important is to be able to manage our water resources efficiently, to be able to spread the use in a way and manner that will not be deficient to some other parts, so far we are able to manage carefully the use of our water. The hydro power that we are generating is not much, so we haven’t gotten to that point of overuse of water resources or using more water to generate power at the expense of having water supply or using water for agriculture,” the Minister stated.

  • ‘There is goldmine in water treatment’

    Rev. Peter Oladayo Fatukasi trained as a computer programmer in London and soon returned to Nigeria, where he had a short stint with IDPM, gathering experience on the job. However, necessity made him venture into water treatment and fumigation, where he has literally made good. He shares his story of running a successful startup company in this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde

    How did you get into water treatment?

    When I moved into Owode Ajegunle in Ikorodu about five years ago, I found out that there wasn’t good water to drink. On the other hand, there was a lot of flood around. So we had to treat the water and thing got better gradually. We thank God for the government that that is also constructing the roads and bringing development to the area.

    I have a friend, Engineer Ibe who had been living in the area for a long while. We met in Israel and discovered that they had good water in spite of the fact that they have rain once in a while. In the process of trying to find out how they do it, we found out that they recycled their water through natural means. It is not about using chemicals at all.

    So how did you get trained for this?

    We learnt the process in Israel with my partner. When we started we found that people spent a lot of money doing boreholes and you know that when you do boreholes there are some levels that you get to that you cannot control the water anymore. Iron, ferrous and the water become brown or black. Also by the time we started, we needed to convince people about the need to treat their water through our company. Nigerians usually do not believe something that is new and we told them that there is a money back guarantee or don’t even pay us.

    Borehole is not easy to control and so we use the well and it is called osmosis inverter. So, we did it for a number of people in the neighbourhood and got referrals from them afterwards. Our clientele got bigger and we also got projects like working on water used by some hotels within and outside the area. It is affordable unlike the industrial process which is quite expensive. Our system is quite easy for a lot of people to have good water.

    How long have you been doing this?

    We started the business about five years ago. And the response has been very encouraging but like every new business at that point, we know that we had to bear the risk alone. Now that we have proved ourselves, people now look for us. There is a new property of about eight flats in the neighbourhood that has just been completed. They called me recently to come and inspect it because they had seen our jobs. It is a pity that a number of people prefer trial and error. When you tell them don’t do this, try what we have. They go round to make mistakes and they come back to us later. Majority of them use stainless steel for water treatment but after two or three years, it rusts and gives problems. We call that mugun stainless but we use plastic and it is called crude water treatment but by the time you finish it, it comes out tasteless, colourless and odourless.

    What are some of the challenges that you encounter on the job?

    The challenges are that most of the people who are putting up houses usually run out of cash. It takes less than 48 hours to execute the project and it cost from N400,000 upwards. It is a very lucrative business. What keeps me going is not just the money I make from the business. My passion is to see my neighbours and people around me having clean water. I imagine what is going on at the moment with the Ebola virus and there is no water in a community.

    Can you imagine what would happen? Besides, water constitutes a great percentage of what our body is made up of and it is important to have clean water all the time, especially for women. They want to cook, have their bath and tidy the environment from time to time. Of course, we all know that without water life would be unbearable and it would affect families and businesses. That is why Fela Anikulapo Kuti sang the song, Water no get enemy.

    For a number of small and medium scale businesses, electricity has been a major challenge. How has this affected your business?

    For us, electricity is not a major thing. It doesn’t really affect us and we make use of the generator, which is used to test the pumping machine. It is oaky because, you do not need this for a long while. The only problem however, is with our clients; the people who would use our products would need electricity to pump the water regularly. For those using automatic pumping machine like you have in the developed world like the US, immediately the water finishes, it pumps itself back automatically. But with the electricity problem, this would certainly be impossible. Sometimes, if you use the generator too often then it would pack up easily.

    If you have to advise government and our entrepreneurs, what would you tell them?

    I would tell our government that they should have the fear of God in their minds. If they do this, God would help them. If the fear of God and fear of death is on their mind then they would be better citizens. Anybody in government today is a millionaire or a billionaire. They have made more than enough, yet they are never satisfied. The most important thing is to do something for the people who put them there in the first place. They must strive to make an impact in the lives of those they promised to serve. As they love money, they should love their neighbours and if they do this things would change. There is money in this country but our leaders are selfish.

    What are the other things that they do?

    I am also into fumigation. Most people do not fumigate their houses in Nigeria for years. It is better to do this every six months or at least once in a year because of the pests and rodents. Most houses now, if you look at the ceiling, you find that it is falling apart. That is why when there is a big storm the roofs collapse and it is better to save yourself from all this by fumigating your environment.

  • Troubled water

    Waking up this morning, I was very troubled within me as I consider what has been going on within our sport circle in the past few months and I can only come to the conclusion that we really need God’s intervention in resolving all matters relating to our current challenges. While it is expedient for us to also note that heaven helps those who help themselves we must also not lose sight of the fact that we need to properly identify the root cause of our current challenges in a bid to addressing same accordingly.

    One most important factor militating against the development of sport in Nigeria is the role of meddlesome interlopers that have found their way into our sport through the back door and thereby constituting themselves as a clog in the wheel of progress in our sports development drive. There is so much to talk about the role and attitude of these persons and their allies.

    When people fail to see the need to do the right things then we are gradually heading for the rocks and this rock is eminent if alternative actions are not taken to prevent such actions. While we are also looking at the positive sides we must first ask ourselves why we are always in the mess we find ourselves in football.

    Many people that are today desirous of seeing our sport soar to the next level have not taken time to look at the root causes of the problems that have bedevilled our sports. We have a systemic problem in Nigeria sports and the problem is such that we have overtime allowed people who have nothing to do with sports to come and take over the instrumentality of sports in Nigeria.

    Let me also say that we have a situation whereby every year we introduce new set of entrants into the sports circles and these entrants are all coming into the sports to further compound the problems in our sports. They have overtime developed themselves into a very serious force that is now working against the development of sports in Nigeria.

    Let us take look at what we are currently experiencing at the various sport Federations in Nigeria we have at every election year a situation whereby there will be a serious crises and these crises have been generated by people that are not in away interested in the development of our sport. The core professionals are now outsiders in their own domain and they are more like spectators now watching the unfolding drama in their own profession.

    Why must we allow people who have no interest in the development of our sport to now hijack the entire process of sport development? The essence of all this is the fact that we have made our various sport Federations to be unattractive to persons that will be willing to partner with our sport Federations for the purpose of adding to its development.

    Today another drama is playing out in our football and we will be worst off if we don’t curtail this unfolding drama that has the propensity of destroying the very fabric of football that we stand to cherish and protect. As I have postulated earlier that during each election year we find people who have nothing to contribute towards our sport development constituting themselves as another group of stakeholders.

    Imagine a situation where an Electoral Committee that was constituted by the Nigeria Football Federation to conduct elections is now working independent of the Federation. While it is expedient to acknowledge the fact that the Electoral Committee is an independent body it is worthy to mention that its independence does not make it a legal and separate entity outside the Nigeria Football Federation.

    However, we have a very shocking show of shame in this case we have a committee that is bigger than the entity that created it I even noted that the Chairman of the NFF Electoral Committee is hell-bent on conducting elections into the NFF Executive Committee on 26th August, 2014 while the NFF is also hell- bent in ensuring that the election be postponed.

    In all these I was taken aback by the statement of the NFF Electoral Committee Chairman that everyone in the Glass House is an illiterate but I beg to disagree because I am aware that the current team of management and staff are professionals with varying degrees ranging from Ph.D to OND. Let us look at the need to really do the needful rather than causing serious problems in our football. May God Help our Football.

  • World Bank, others okay $638m for water, sanitation

    • As minister charges states on collaborative effort

    The World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), French Development Agency (FDA), and Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), have said it will support Nigeria with $638million new financial commitment to boost water supply and sanitation in the country.

    The Country Directors of each of the donor agencies announced the new financial commitment in Abuja during a two day workshop with the theme: “Strengthening the Implementation of Urban Water Sector Reform in Nigeria.”

    The World Bank Country Director, Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly disclosed that the bank had provided a support bank financing of $250million for the third phase of water sector reform in Bauchi, Rivers, Ekiti, and Cross River state.

    She said the lack of access to water and sanitation in Nigeria was not acceptable, adding that women spend months looking for safe drinking water.

    The Deputy Country Director AfDB, Mrs. Babara Barungi said the bank was providing a finance facility of $205million to boost water supply and sanitation in Rivers State, adding that the bank have Invested $760million in the sector since 1986.

    She called for improved financial management in states where the projects are located.

    The French Development Agency (AFD) Country Director, Hubert Dogin said the agency will assist Ogun State with $33million in its Urban Water Reform Project.

    He said the funds will assist the World Bank investment in its third phase programme to increase access to water, sanitation.

    The JICA country Director, Seki Tetsuo said the Agency is approving $150million on development of water facilities.

    He said JICA was working towards building capacities of State Water Board Agencies to improve the provision of utilities to consumers.

    In her response, the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe said despite the intervention of the donor agencies, the states were not doing well in implementing the urban water sector reform.

    She urged governors of benefiting states to give support and create enabling environment for the project to thrive.

  • Ebonyi signs clean water pact with U.S.

    Ebonyi signs clean water pact with U.S.

    The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ebonyi State government to establish a collaborative development partnership to modernise the state’s water utility. The agreement cements an ongoing working relationship to strengthen the institutional, legal and regulatory framework of the Ebonyi State water system so that households have increased access to potable water. Currently, activities underway include establishing a reliable customer database to improve billing and collection efficiency, strengthening the human resource management skills through targeted trainings and developing a tariff policy for cost recovery.

    The MOU was signed by his Excellency, the Executive Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief Martin Elechi, and the USAID Mission Director, Michael T. Harvey.

    Mr. Harvey acknowledged Ebonyi state’s significant investment to expand clean water production and connect its population to an affordable water supply. The state financed the construction of two new water treatment plants and a 52-kilometer trunk water main that connects one of the new water treatment plants to the state capital, Abakaliki. Mr. Harvey said that USAID will work with the Ebonyi State Water Corporation to help it achieve financial independence and, in the end, provide more, better quality water on a reliable basis.  He said, “This partnership is critical because it is about sustainability. It’s about strong political will and a commitment to reform. USAID will enable government officials to move the state towards a brighter future.”

    USAID’s urban water reform activity — Sustainable Water and Sanitation in Africa (SUWASA) — is a water policy reform activity at the state level that focuses on sustainable urban water supply.

  • N18b water treatment plant launched

    Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) who never drank clean pipe-borne water have now been reassured that their ordeal is over.

    The phase three and four of a multi-billion naira water treatment plant at the Lower Usman Dam is expected to treat an additional 20 million litres of water per hour, in addition to the already 10 million litres in the phase one and two.

    President Goodluck Jonathan, who commissioned the project, described it as an important milestone in the countries journey to build an important Federal Capital for the people.

    He said that his administration is centred on providing all the necessary utilities needed in the country so people will not have to sink boreholes in search of water or try to generate electricity.

    His word, “”No matter the beautiful layouts, buildings or road networks in Abuja that facilitate our movements, we cannot say Abuja is a modern town if people have to have boreholes or generate their own electricity, so government must be committed and of course we are determined to provide adequate utilities to residents of this great city.

    “This administration will ensure it provides facilities like power, transportation, housing, water resources and telecommunication amongst others.”

    He also said, “With a capacity of 20 million litres per hour, this plant is amongst some of the largest in the world

    “I’m happy to note that the quality of water from this project conforms to global best practice and the commencement of the operation means the availability of portable drinking water, we expect that the project will drastically reduce and completely eradicate water born diseases, create employment opportunities for water related businesses and help to annex aquatic resources in areas around the dam.

    “We will ensure that all residents have access to water and they don’t need to dig their boreholes.”

    Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed revealed that the Phases 1 and 2 Water treatment Plants which treats 10 million litters of water per hour was completed by 1987 and 2000 respectively.

    He said that the contract was awarded in August 2005 but was stalled due to funding challenges, which was cleared under the leadership of President in keeping with his commitment to the principle that government business is a continuum as well as his aversion for abandonment of important projects.

    His words, “the realization of this project represents a major landmark in our pursuit of the Transformation Agenda of the Jonathan Administration as well as our vision to build a capital city that will rank among the top 20 cities in the world.

    “The unwavering need to improve the living standard of the people by alleviating their suffering through projects that have direct bearing on their welfare.

    “The Abuja water master plan is a big part of the Abuja master plan. The lower Usman dam shows off models of five litres capacity each, reservoirs of various heights around the periphery of the city.

    “The new ones commissioned today will treat additional 20 million litters per hour, thereby making it 30 million litters per hour, thereby increasing the water treatment capacity by 200 percent.”

    He added, “These treatment plants have been completed in line with the vision of the Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government. These plants would greatly reduce water scarcity in the Federal Capital City and its environs.

    ”The FCT Administration is also making concerted efforts to commence the water distribution network to Phases 2 and 3 of the City covering such districts as Gwarinpa, Kafe, Katampe, Wuye, Jabi and Jahi,”.

  • Artisans, Lagos partner on water management

    The Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Housing, Land, and Urban Development, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, has praised West African Ceramics Limited on its production of high quality ceramic and vitrified tiles to meet the needs of the construction industry.

    He spoke at the Building Construction and Mining Mart expo in Lagos, during a tour of the firm’s stand. He expressed satisfaction with the company’s production of tiles of international standards and quality. West African Ceramics is the manufacturer of Royal Ceramics and VIT Porcelain tiles.

    The firm’s Marketing Representative for Southwest Operations, Tosin Elatoroti,who conducted Ashafa round the stand, said the production of vitrified tiles was a demonstration of the firm’s commitment to serving the building industry, particularly in floor, wall, and roofing tiles.

    He explained the production process to the lawmaker. “Unlike the production process of ceramic tiles, vitrified tile is made by baking fine minerals like various clay at extreme high temperature where the individual grains or particles melt and fuse to make a glass-like surface, thus creating a mass making them extremely hard with low porosity, and resistant to stain,” he said, adding that the firm is preparing towards production of digital tiles which is the next phase in tile production in Nigeria.

    Hinging on the theme of the expo: Construction stand: Knowing the equipment for the job, Elatoroti further said the firm provides advice and assistance to builders and architects at their showrooms in Lagos, Abuja and Suleja.