-
Restates resolve towards equitable access to water
By Stanley Onyekwere
To commemorate the 2023 World Water Day themed “Accelerating Change”, the FCT Administration commissioned a multimillion Naira Solar powered water scheme situated at Pyakasa, one of the aboriginal communities off the Abuja Airport Road, in Abuja Metropolitan Area Council (AMAC).
It was gathered that the project estimated to had cost the FCTA between 10 to 11 to million Naira, is part of its interventions through FCT Rural Water Supply, and Sanitation Directorate (RUWASSA) aimed at improving accessibility to safe drinking water in rural communities.
Performing the official commissioning of the project yesterday, FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, expressed the commitment of the FCT Administration towards providing equitable access to water, sanitation and hygiene services, while strengthening community-led approaches to total sanitation.
Aliy also encouraged stakeholders to join hands with the Administration to accelerate change in improving access to safe drinking water in the Territory.
Represented by the Mandate Secretary, Area Council Services Secretariat, Hon. Ibrahim Abubakar Dantsoho, the minister, revealed that the FCT Administration has constructed 188 hand pump borehole water supply schemes, 6 motorised solar-powered borehole water schemes and rehabilitated 30 rural water supply schemes, culminating in improving access to safe drinking water for about 50,000 citizens.
She, however used the occasion to reiterated that the World Water Day is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis of about 2.2 billion people living without access to safe drinking water, stressing that the 2023 World Water Day is about accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis.
While appreciating the partnership with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, development partners such as UNICEF, USAID, WaterAid Nigeria, DFID, Japan International Cooperation Agency, she however pledged the readiness of the Administration in supporting and encouraging collaboration and partnership in the provision of safe drinking water in rural communities.
“Sustainability of both the private and public water sources is significant in the service delivery sector of the FCT.
“In this respect, I urge the good people of Abuja to embrace the clarion call for behavioural change to safely manage and conserve the available water resources for the current and future generations”, she stressed.
Aliyu however, lamented that millions of people and countless schools, businesses, healthcare centres, farms and industries are being held back because their human rights to water and sanitation still need to be fulfilled, just as she called for an urgent need to accelerate change— to go beyond “business as usual.”
“The recent data (WASH-NORM) shows that governments must work on an average of five times faster to meet the SDG 6 on time, but this is not a situation that any single actor or group can solve. Water affects everyone, so, we need everyone to “be the change” and take action,” she added.
Similarly, the FCTA Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olusade Adesola, who was represented by the Director of Administration and Finance, Mr. Abdulrasaq Leramoh, advocated for positive impacts in accessibility to safe drinking water in rural communities.
He also called on the benefiting communities to take ownership of the facilities and ensure their smooth operation, management and sustainability.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, the Executive Director FCT Rural Water Supply, and Sanitation Agency, Dr. Mohammed Ali Dan-Hassan, identified water as an essential component of life that is critical to the family unit, the community, local government, state and federal levels.
Dan-Hassan expressed the confidence that RUWASSA has reached about 60 percent of coverage of rural communities, adding that in the next one or two years, it would hit 90 to 95 percent coverage of water supply.
According to him, the FCTA spent between 10 to 11 to Million Naira on the Pyakasa water project.
“We are exploiting the ground water resource, because the pipe bone network has not reached those areas yet,” he added.
On his part, the S’apeyi of Garki, Dr. Usman Nga-Kupi, who commended the FCTA for the intervention in Pyakasa, stressed the need to extend such to other communities within the Garki Chiefdom and beyond, for greater impact.
Not left out,Council Secretary for AMAC, Alh. Jafaru Gwagwa, who represented the AMAC Chairman Christopher Maikalangu, described the execution of the project as apt, as it will go a long to alleviate the plight of the people in the area, just as he urged RUWASSA to consider doing so in other parts of the Council and FCT at large.
Peoples Daily recalls that the commemoration of World Water Day (March 22) began in 1993, to raise awareness and inspire action to tackle water and sanitation crisis.
