Date: 2019-11-15

The Federal Government on Thursday in Ilorin inaugurated two million cubic metres water plants in Malete, Moro Local Government Area of Kwara.

The construction and upgrading of the waterworks were at the instance of the Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority (LNRBDA).

The Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, who inaugurated the project, alongside the Managing Director of LNRBDA, Dr Adeniyi Saheed Aremu, said the government was committed to the provision of clean water to the people.

Speaking to Journalists on the sidelines of the project inauguration, Adamu said the federal government was making effort to ensure water sanitation, one of the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

The minister said that provision of clean water was a fundamental human right of every citizen.

He assured that the government would not rest until Nigerians have access to clean water.

"Anything pertaining to water sanitation is critical to us.

"Water is the most important ingredient of life.

We are doing everything that we can to ensure that Nigeria meets its target for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)

"Even without a sustainable goal, people are entitled to clean water and sanitation because it is a basic human right," Adamu said.

"But it is a fundamental human right of everybody to be given access to clean water for health and development.

He congratulated the management of the LNRBDA for this the project, saying the scheme means a lot to the government.

The minister, who also spoke on the launching of 'Open Defecation Free Campaign', said the federal government would ensure that the country was free of the menace in the next six years.

"We are prepared for the launch of the open defecation free (ODF) campaign on Nov. 19, in Abuja.

"As I keep saying, the launching is not the end; it is just the beginning.

We have also been working on this ODF programme for a long time, but we need to scale it up," the minister said.

The Managing Director, Turning Point Engineering Limited, Mr Kayode Sangoyomi, who handled the project, said that it was awarded in 2013 with the capacity to supply two million cubic metres of water to residents of Malete and its environs daily.

"The project comprises of a new dam of about 8.2 metres high, 400metres.

"Another component of the project is the treatment plant.

"The former one has a capacity for 22.5 cubic metres per hour (225,000 litres per hour) while the new one, which will complement the existing one, has a capacity of 50,000 litres per hour," Sangoyomi said.

The minister also commissioned the Sobi Water Works, which was rehabilitated by the LNRBDA.