FG spends N810.9m on deserted Ogun water scheme

The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, says the Federal Government of Nigeria has spent N810.9m on the Ota water scheme, which had been deserted for 31 years.

Adamu said this on Tuesday at the site of the project at Arobieye Village, Iju in Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State in the course of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Ogun State Government on the revival and completion of the project.

Governor Ibikunle Amosun signed for the state government, while Adamu endorsed the agreement on behalf of the Federal Government.

Aside from reviving the water scheme, the MoU additionally covers the Partnership on Expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, otherwise referred to as PEWASH.

Adamu mentioned, “The Federal Government has expended a total sum of N810,948,172.70 on the project.

“The project, when accomplished, may have capability to deliver about 15 million litres of potable water supply per day to the people residing in Ota and Ijoko environs.”

After inspecting the services on ground in company with the state governor, the minister noted that Nigeria nonetheless had vital challenges in accessing enough potable water supply, sanitation and hygiene.

Suleiman Adamu mentioned latest statistics indicated that solely 69 per cent of the nation’s inhabitants had access to improved water supply from all sources.

The minister, who added that for pipe borne water on premises, the scenario had been on the decline, sliding from 32 per cent in 1990 to seven per cent in 2015, explained that it was even worse with sanitation as solely 29 per cent of the inhabitants had access to improved sanitation.

He noted that the Sustainable Development Goals required extra deliverables than the Millennium Development Goals, which ended in 2015, therefore the necessity for proactive actions on the projects.

On his own part, Amosun described the revival of the Ota water scheme and PEWASH programme as a further demonstration of the synergy that existed between the state and the Federal Government.