Abuja: The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has expressed excitement over completing the 470 million dollar Greater Abuja Water Supply Project eight years after its completion.
Wike expressed his excitement in Abuja on Monday at President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration of the project to celebrate his second year in office.
He explained that the project was awarded in 2017 under a partnership with the African Development Initiative to address loops one, two, five, and six.
He added that the Chinese government provided 85 per cent of the funds, while the Federal Government and the FCT provided 15 per cent.
The minister added that the project was completed in just two years in office, following Tinubu’s directive to improve the city’s water supply.
“Although the project was awarded in 2017, your administration has completed it, and today we are inaugurating it to improve water supply in the city,” he said.
Wike recalled that the FCT Administration had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a Chinese company in 2024 to provide water in FCT satellite towns.
We have almost completed the procurement process to provide water to Bwari, Kubwa, and Karu residents, among other communities.
“So, Mr President, you are not only providing water to residents in the cities; you are also providing water to residents in satellite towns,” he added.
He thanked Tinubu for the support and assured the President that this project would be completed and inaugurated in 2026 to celebrate his third year in office.
He thanked the National Assembly equally for the tireless support, which he described as “very encouraging.”
Inaugurating the project, Tinubu described it as a “monumental effort” to ensure safe, sustainable, and sufficient water for homes, institutions, and communities across the capital city.
According to him, water is not a luxury but a fundamental human right and a foundation for public health, urban development and economic growth. He thanked Wike for exhibiting a very great virtue of leadership.
“This virtue is when a leader is very conscious of the needs of his people, and he goes about committed with a dedication to do it. That’s what you have been exhibiting in FCT,” Tinubu said.
The FCT Minister of State, Dr Mariya Mahmoud, thanked Tinubu for his steadfast commitment to Nigerian welfare and for making the delivery of essential services a key priority of his “Renewed Hope Agenda.”
“Your excellency, your leadership has breathed new life into long-standing projects such as this one, transforming plans on paper into realities that directly impact the lives of our citizens.
“The completion of these water supply loops demonstrates your administration’s resolve to ensure that no community is left behind in our pursuit of national development,” she said.
Earlier, Mr Richard Dauda, acting Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority, said that the completed project would significantly improve the city’s access to potable water.
Dauda said the project involves the construction of water supply pipes in loops one, two, five, and six, as required by the Abuja Master Plan.
He added that it involves laying 425-kilometre (km) of ductile iron pipes at various diametres, comprising 256 km of central lines and 169 km of distribution lines.”The scope of the project includes site clearance and excavation, construction of loops one and two in Phase II, III and part of Phase IV in the northern development corridor and loops five and six in Phase II and III in the southern development corridor of the city,” he said.
