The Enugu State Commissioner for Water Resources, Dr Felix Nnamani, inaugurated three boreholes built by U.S.-based philanthropist Sunday Egbo for Amofia Amagu community in Enugu on Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Amaofia Amagu is in Nara Unateze in Enugu East Council Areas of Enugu State, and the boreholes are seen as measures to reduce long-standing water challenges facing the people of the community.
The three solar-powered boreholes are located at Obodo Egbo Square, Obodo Ikoro Amagu Square, and OgoAgu Ihuoma Village, all within the community.
Inaugurating the project, Nnamani said the boreholes would alleviate the difficulties the community was facing in getting clean and safe drinking water.
He commended Egbo for thinking about home and investing in it, saying that what he had done was in line with Gov. Peter Mbah’s policy of providing water to people in rural areas.
“The governor said I should thank you immensely,” he told Egbo.
The commissioner noted that in the past 20 years, there has been no water in Enugu, adding that during his political campaign, Mbah promised to fix water in Enugu within 180 days, which looked impossible.
“But today, we have 70 million litres of water at the water project sited at 9th Mile and have generated another 50 million at the Oji-River water scheme, making it 120 million litres of daily water supply for Enugu metropolis for their consumption and use.
“We did not only change all the pressure pumps; we changed the asbestos pipes to modern ones and cleaned all the reservoirs in Enugu to ensure quality water.
“There was no quality assurance of water until the governor decided to give Enugu people clean and safe drinking water,” he said.
Nnamani explained that the challenge they were facing currently was the reticulation lines, saying, “All we have from the colonial era was asbestos pipes, most of which had gone bad.
“As we generate 120 million litres of water, you will see the pipes bursting due to the weaknesses of those asbestos pipes.
“Mbah is delivering on all fronts; he is changing the educational sector by building 260 SMART schools across all the electoral wards in Enugu, and in health, he is building 260 health centres across the board.
“The roads are receiving serious attention as he is doing 81 urban roads and other rural roads simultaneously. All we beg of you is your time, support, and patience,” he said.
While calling on other well-meaning individuals in the state to emulate what Egbo did by contributing to community development, Nnamani advised women in the community to set up a committee on water management to ensure its sustainability.
Speaking earlier, Egbo, who hails from the community, said his desire to provide water came as a result of the challenges his community was facing in getting water.
He stressed that while in the U.S., he never forgot his childhood experiences from the community on how he and other young boys trekked far distances to fetch water before going to school.
“My community needs water, and as a young boy growing up in this village, I knew how difficult it was to get clean and safe water.
“Everybody is supposed to have access to clean water, and I urge the community to take ownership of the project and make good use of it,” Egbo advised. (NAN)
