Jonathan promises to provide potable water to 75% of Nigerians by 2015
APA, Abuja (Nigeria) — President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja assured the nation that three quarters of Nigerians would have access to potable water by 2015 as he commissioned solar-based water treatment systems aimed at providing potable water.
Speaking on behalf of President Jonathan at the launching of the Presidential Summit on Water, the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, stressed the need for all Nigerians to have clean and affordable water to drink at all times and in every part of the country.
“No Nigerian child should in the next few years trek long distances to carry water on their head before going to school.
“Our target is to ensure that by the year 2015, 75 per cent of Nigerians will have access to safe drinking water and that by 2025, the figure will rise to over 90 percent,” he said.
He expressed the hope that by year 2015, at least 65 per cent of Nigeria’s population would have access to potable water in order to reduce the present high rate of mortality of children under the age of five.
Jonathan noted that the ability to develop water resources in a sustainable manner was critical to hydropower generation as well as the healthy growth of the manufacturing sector.
He directed the Minister of Water Resources and the Minister of State for Power to put in motion processes that would ensure that all the nation’s dams were fully rehabilitated and their hydropower component maximized.
He said the nation’s roadmap for the water sector was in tune with the African Water Vision as well as “the Sharm El-Sheikh Commitment for Water and Sanitation Goals”.
Highlights of the summit included the commissioning of solar-powered water treatment plants for rural water supply in Abuja by Vice President Sambo.
The solar project handled by Trunz Water System, a Swiss company, is aimed at reducing the use of diesel for sustainability of water by the rural populace.
According to Mr. Ralph Hengartner, Manager of Trunz Water Systems, “the solar base system is able to treat about 90,000 litres of water and can be sourced from every kind of water source.’’
According to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Godknows Igali, the pilot project, with 10 units per state could take care of a village of about 5,000 inhabitants.
(Source: www.environmental-expert.com )