ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike on Wednesday said President Bola Tinubu-led administration is committed to providing potable water for all area councils in FCT by 2027.

In a significant step towards ensuring improved access to clean and potable water in all satellite towns, Wike has flagged off Lot 1 of the Bwari township water supply project.

Speaking at the flag-off ceremony in Abuja, Wike announced that President Tinubu has approved the immediate release of 50% of the contract sum for both the Bwari and the upcoming Karu water projects to ensure their timely completion, assuring that both projects were scheduled for completion and inauguration during President Tinubu’s third anniversary celebration in May, 2026.

The minister also unveiled a strategic timeline for future projects, revealing that water projects for the Kuje, Kwali, and Gwagwalada Area Councils will be included in the FCT’s 2026 statutory budget, confidently stating that all six Area Councils in the FCT would have access to clean, potable water by the time President Tinubu’s first term concludes in 2027.

He said; “Today, we are in Bwari. Tomorrow, we will be in Karu, in essence, taking two Area Councils together. By the time we finish with Bwari and Karu, in next year’s budget, by the grace of God, we will go to Kuje and Kwali. By 2027, by the grace of God, we will be talking about Gwagwalada and Abaji. By the time Mr. President’s four-year tenure expires, we would have touched all the satellite towns by providing them clean, potable water.

“Of course, this will save you the cost of digging your own borehole, providing pipes and the rest, ” the Minister said. “All you would need to do is to just link up to the various pipe networks and then the water will flow, clean and treat the water. Unlike the one from your borehole, this is fully treated water”.

Wike while noting that the execution phase of the water projects will provide direct and indirect employment for the teeming youths of the FCT, appealed to the relevant stakeholders, including the traditional rulers and other community members, to take ownership of the projects and give the needed support to the contractors, emphasizing that water is a fundamental human need.

He said; “I appeal to the traditional rulers, I appeal to our youth, I appeal to our women, I appeal to all our community members to take this project as your own project. This is the first time a government has said that you too deserve to have potable clean water because water is life, not just saying it but implementing it.

“I think this is even more important than the road projects you have protected when the contractors are on site. If you can protect contractors when they are constructing roads, you can imagine what you will do as regards the supply of water, which is one of the basic needs in life. So, I urge you to collaborate and support the company so that we can achieve this on record time”.

The Minister assured that the project would be pursued to its conclusion without being abandoned, in fulfilment of the promises made by the President to the people of the FCT and urged the residents to continue supporting the President.

He said; “We have agreed that we are going to bring water and we are bringing water. When I come back to say we have performed, you too will perform. So, when the President has done for you, when it is your own turn too, do for the President”.

The Minister of State FCT, Dr Mariya Mahmoud described the Bwari water township project as history in the making, emphasizing that the project is more than just laying pipes, but about improving the quality of life of families, ensuring children grow up healthier, and providing clean, safe water for mothers.

Mahmoud expressed profound appreciation to President Tinubu for his consistent support to the FCT Administration and the FCT Minister for his visionary leadership and dedication to the development of the FCT, while also thanking the Area Council Chairmen and other stakeholders for their continued support.

Giving the Project overview earlier, the Executive Secretary of the FCDA, Engr. Richard Yunana Dauda had said that the expansion of water supply to FCT satellite town project was a strategic infrastructure initiative aligned with the FCT regional masterplan, which provides for the development of FCT satellite towns concurrently with the development of the FCT City Centre, adding that the project is designed to improve portable water supply to FCT residents.

“In the concept of the FCT regional masterplan, the project is intended to construct and expand the provision of portable water to the satellite towns. Today its Bwari, tomorrow, Karu. Provision to other satellite towns will be made in due course.

“The project provides an essential secondary and tertiary distribution network for effective supply of portable water to the teeming populace of Bwari and its environs. The network is an extension of the recently commissioned Greater Abuja Water Supply Project, he stated.

Dauda said the scope of work of the project include, among other things, the supply and installation of 198 km of various types and sizes of pipes, adding that the project will create job opportunities and provide portable water to not only Bwari town but neighbouring communities like Ushafa, Kuchiko, Kuduru, improving the health and socio-economic well-being of the people of the area while urging benefitting communities to cooperate with the contractor to ensure a hitch free project execution and timely delivery.

The Deputy Managing Director, CGC Nigeria Limited (the contractor handling the project), Lv Haiming, in his commitment assured that the project would be executed without delay, to save the people of Bwari the hardship of having to dig boreholes or spend so much money to buy water, saying, when completed, residents will enjoy clean portable water.