Stephen Angbulu
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday promised that water projects would fully cover the Abuja area councils of Kuje, Kwali, Gwagwalada and Abaji before the end of his tenure.
This was as he inaugurated a 198-kilometre water pipeline network in Bwari, FCT, declaring that clean water was a fundamental right and not a luxury.
Represented at the ceremony by the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, the President said the project ended years of dependence on untreated boreholes and streams by communities in Bwari, Ushafa and surrounding areas, linking them directly to the treated water source at the Lower Usuma Dam.
Senior Special Assistant on Media to the First Lady, Busola Kukoyi, revealed details of the engagement in a statement signed Tuesday, titled ‘We Are Laying a Solid Foundation for a Prosperous, Resilient and Inclusive Nigeria — PBAT.’
Tinubu said, “I recall that the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory came to me with the master plan for these interventions.
“I looked at the files and saw that for years, our people in Bwari, Ushafa and surrounding communities relied on untreated boreholes and streams for their water supply.
“This was unacceptable to me. Water is life. Clean water is dignity. It is a fundamental right, not a luxury.”
He described his instruction to the FCT minister as direct, saying, “I told him: go out there, mobilise the best, and fix it. And today, we are commissioning this state-of-the-art 198-kilometre water pipeline network. That is how we work. We do not make excuses; we deliver results.”
The President said the project went beyond infrastructure, linking it to public health, economic opportunity and human dignity.
“This project is more than just laying pipes and turning on taps.
“By linking Bwari township and its environs directly to the major treated water source at the Lower Usuma Dam, we are ending waterborne diseases and the constant, expensive digging of individual boreholes,” he said.
He also disclosed that the project generated over 1,600 direct and indirect jobs for young people during construction.
“I am told that this project alone has generated over 1,600 direct and indirect jobs for our youths, opening up new economic pathways right here in this area council,” the President revealed.
On the road map for the rest of the FCT, the President promised, “I assure you, by the grace of Almighty God, before the end of our tenure, water projects will fully cover Kuje, Kwali, Gwagwalada and Abaji.”
The First Lady, who represented the President at the ceremony, offered a prayer for the nation, saying, “I would like to add a scripture from the Bible, 2 Kings 2:19-21, and use this water project as a point of contact to say a prayer for our nation.
“In verse 21: ‘Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.’ Our nation shall be peaceful, blessed and fruitful, in Jesus’ name.”
The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, announced that the 198-kilometre water pipeline network was the 50th project inaugurated in the FCT since 2023 and assured residents that at least 10 more completed projects would be inaugurated before January 2027.
He attributed the pace of delivery to presidential backing.
“I have been governor, now a minister. If you do not have that support, it would be difficult for you to perform. We will continue to do everything possible so that the people of Abuja are happy,” he said.
The Minister of State for the FCT, Dr Mariya Mahmoud, and the Managing Director of China Geo-Engineering Ltd, Zhong Xiang, the contractor for the project, also commended the President for prioritising people-oriented projects.
According to UNICEF, approximately 60 million Nigerians, nearly one in three, lack access to safe water, with rural and peri-urban communities disproportionately affected.
Waterborne diseases, including cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea, remain leading causes of child mortality in the country.
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