By Correspondent in Minna
As the world marks the 2021 World Water Day, Niger state government yesterday expressed sadness that about 58 per cent of people living in Minna, the state capital and its environs lacked potable water supply.
The Reporters reports that lack of water supply to many homes in Minna metropolis in particular is very worrisome, despite the efforts and resources being put in place by the state government to ensure the availability of water for citizenry.
Addressing newsmen in Minna to commemorate World Water Day, the Commissioner of Water Resources and Dams Development, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman Suleiman, said the Ministry had made some giant strides in improving water supply from 17 per cent of the populace to 42 per cent.
He said:”The capacity utilization of the state water board has increased to 50 per cent. “We have been working round the clock to get water for the people. Currently, we are supplying water to 42 per cent of areas in Minna that are linked up to the water supply.
” We know that there are areas that are not yet linked up to water supply but we are making it our mandate to improve water supply in the state capital and across the state.”
The Commissioner, who lamented that a lot of people did not value water in the state, as they were careless in taking care of the service pipes that connect water to homes, reminded that, “service pipes are usually meant for the people to manage but we often take over in repairing most of these service pipes that get burst”.
“Our main challenge is inadequate reporting. The society is so careless in caring about water supplies but they are also the same society that yearns and laments about lack of water supply”, the Commissioner further said.
Speaking about the theme of the 2021 World Water Day, ‘Valuing Water’, Suleiman noted that valuing water entails valuing water sources, natural water resources, ecosystems, water infrastructure, water services, sanitation and health services.
While expressing the determination of the present administration in the state to improve on what it met on ground, Suleiman said that the state government was adopting the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach that would reflect and balance a diverse range of interests.
These interests, he said, include households, agriculture, industry, business and the natural environment.
