The minister of water resources, Eng Sulaiman Adamu has commended the management of the Upper Benue River Basin Development Authority (UBRBDA) for maintenance of Kiri dam constructed in Shelleng local government area of Adamawa state, nearly 40 years ago.
The minister who was in Adamawa state on a one-day working visit expressed amazement at how the management of the river basin development authority kept all the machinery intact and in good shape over the years noting that such feat is unprecedented in the history of the country.
“I’m quite happy, you can see that the dam is over 40 years and everything is still working. It is amazing considering that in Nigeria things only work for a couple of years.
“This says a lot about the people who are managing the facility and I will like to thank the management of UBRBDA,” he said.
He equally commended the management for ensuring a balanced ecosystem by ensuring a convivial atmosphere between the various living things especially the hippo colony.
The minister who inspected all the facilities under the purview of the ministry in the state expressed dissatisfaction with the phase of work done on the Chouchi irrigation project.
He noted that lack of political will has killed the once vibrant and promising project which has the capacity to remove thousands of families from poverty.
The minister who was part of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) that awarded the Chouchi irrigation project over two decades ago when president Buhari superintended the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) said: “If this project has been allowed to go when we started it, it will have been finished within three years. When we started we had a very good contractor on site, we had the money.
He noted that after the PTF was scrapped, it became apparent that the then government has lost the political will to continue with the project hence the delay in its execution.
The minister then vowed the readiness of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to complete the project which he said is in the heart of president Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.”
” The succeeding administration lost the political will to go ahead because the agency handling the contract was scrapped and the whole transition was not managed well and the project was transferred to the ministry. Now that I’m the minister, it became my responsibility to revisit it.
“This is a project that we have prioritized, we want to see how we can finish it at the quickest possible time. That is why I personally came to see what is on the ground because we have been receiving files over the Chouchi project.”
While commissioning an upgraded water supply scheme in the Mbamoi ward, Yola South local government, the minister urged the people to own and protect the facility for optimal performance.
He noted that the water facility can provide up to 200,000 liters of water per day and equipped with solar-powered panels to guard against the cost of procuring diesel.
Earlier during a courtesy call on the Lamido of Adamawa, Dr. Muhammadu Barkindo Aliyu Mustapha, the minister called on the monarch to support the campaign against open defecation, as Nigeria is currently rated as the first country in the League of Nations with a high rate of open defecation.
He informed the monarch that he was in the state to inspect ongoing projects and to also commission a mini water project in Yola South.
Commenting, the Lamido of Adamawa, thanked the federal government for its relentless efforts in carrying the state along.
The monarch also promised to take the campaign against open defecation to all nooks and crannies of his emirate in order to reduce the menace and uphold healthy living in his domain.