The Managing Director, Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority (LNRBDA), North Central Nigeria, Dr. Adeniyi Saheed Aremu has announced plans by the Federal Government to construct more dams across the country for an adequate supply of potable water and irrigation purposes.
Aremu disclosed this in Ilorin at the 42nd Media Parliament of the Kwara State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
Speaking at the event themed “Ending Perennial Acute Water Shortage in Our Society,” the Managing Director said the resolve to build additional water dams was in line with the deliverables and priorities of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration.
He noted that the water facilities, when constructed, would be made available for different usages by the people, as enunciated in the key performance index of the present government.
“As part of the presidential deliverables and priorities of this present government, we have it as our focus to construct as many dams as possible, and to have irrigation facilities so that water will be available for several usage. And that is one of the key performance index, which President Tinubu has rolled out.
“So, everywhere, we try as much as possible to get water available. Where we cannot have hand pump, we try to have solar or motorized boreholes. In fact, we have even changed our tanks to plastic tanks for longevity of usage,” the Managing Director added.
He explained that the authority under his watch has rehabilitated several waterworks to assist the state governments.
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Aremu noted that the raw water in Asa-Dam can serve residents of Ilorin, stressing that the authority had also opted to provide solar systems alongside new water facilities it built in communities to mitigate the effects of the inability of residents to afford diesel or petrol to power their generators for water supply.
Aremu said, “Now, we are moving into using solar. As long as there is sun, water will keep pumping. That is the innovative project we have now. So, we want to solarise our system. As long as there is sunlight, water will come out.”
Water shortage
The LNRBDA boss, who attributed the frequency of the water shortage to population explosion, informed that his agency would embark on mini-water treatment for communities in place of large dams that often take time to complete.
Kwara and Kogi States
He added that the authority has provided no fewer than 1107 boreholes within its areas of coverage of Kwara and Kogi States since 2017.
In his remarks, the state chairman of NUJ, Abdullateef ‘Lanre Ahmed, bemoaned the difficulties people experience daily in search of potable water, adding that many of them trek long distances before they can have access to clean and safe water.
Ahmed urged the government to expedite action on the ongoing construction of dams for sufficient water supply and to address the effects of the acute shortage.
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