PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2013
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Mother Earth
Council approves team to overhaul Renewable water resources, abandoned projects energy village N reaches 80% completion – Official Minister commissions sanitation facilities in Kaduna T A By Mohammed Kandi
ational Council on Water Resources has approved a joint task team that would ascertain the technical, financial and legal status of all abandoned water projects in the 36 States of federation and the FCT. The Council said in a statement by Boade Akinola, Deputy Director of Press at the Federal Ministry of Water Resources that the joint task team comprised of representatives of federal and
By Mohammed Kandi
s part of social responsibility role, the Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and one of its agencies, the National Water Resources Institute Kaduna, has constructed and commissioned some sanitation facilities in Kaduna State. In a statement by the Deputy Director of Press at the Federal Ministry of Water Resources,Boade Akinola, it said 54 latrine toilets and two boreholes have been constructed and commissioned in Anguwan Bagudu and Karuga village in Chikum Local Government to scale up water and sanitation coverage in those areas. Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Reng Ochekpe who commissioned the projects recently in Kaduna said the projects were executed by the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Centre (RWSSC) of the National Water Resources Institute. “National Water Resources Institute being a Research and Training Institute has the mandate to undertake pilot projects in community sanitation and hygiene especially with the establishment of the Rural Water and Sanitation Centre (RWSSC). In addition, two staff members of NWRI were involved in the West African sub-region and National
state governments. It also said the team will require the services of an independent consultant to be sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources. The statement said: “The Council also approved setting up of inter-ministerial committee with ministers from Water Resources, Environment, Health, Finance and other relevant Agencies and State to workout modalities for preparation and development of the 2014 High Level Meeting (HLM) and prompt compilation
of Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and DrinkingWater reports.” It added that the existing sanitation policy and hygiene be harmonised to produce a single and acceptable National Policy that will provide effective framework for programme delivery. “The Council stressed the need for Nigeria to attain nationwide Open Defecation Free (ODF) status by 2015 and that States, Local Government and communities to embrace the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach
and commit funds towards its achievement,” the statement said. It also approved the review of draft policy on water resources, and also suggested that all aspect of water resources development including climate change be reflected in the final policy document. According to the statement, the council called on states government to adopt the public private partnership approach for the development, operation and maintenance of water infrastructure.
Trainings in 2009 and 2010 in Oturkpo Benue State by the originator of the Programme” She said. Ochekpe explained that community-led sanitation was considered a viable technique for promoting sanitation and hygiene, as well as enable communities to attain Open Defecation Free status. She said that the project was aimed at having model communities where the rural water supply and sanitation centre of NWRI could showcase a good example of
best practices in rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion. Other objective of the programme, the Minister said, was to implement full Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) experience as a pilot in karuga and Anguwan Bagudu communities in Kaduna State, and also to facilitate the establishment of Water and sanitation Committees (WASHCOM) to own operate and maintain the water and sanitation
facilities in their communities. In his remarks the Mai Ungwa of Bagudu community in Gudansa village, Mai Unguwa Yohana thanked the minister for citing the projects in his community. He said: “Initially, we find it difficult to use the latrines toilets but now we are used to it,” adding “Our children are no more infected with diseases such as cholera and other communicable diseases. This had reduced the amount of money spent on hospital bills.”
Minister of Water Resouces, Mrs. Sarah Reng Ochekpe commissioning one of the boreholes constructed recently in karuga village and in Unguwan Bagudu respectively
Group urges SPDC, EXXON Mobile to clean Oil Spills
A
pressure group, Conference of Niger Delta Youths Representatives (CNDYR), has called on the Federal Government to compel Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to clean-up oil spills in five states. The group’s Chairman, Mr Johnson Harry, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of its 2013 annual conference in Port Harcourt. Harry claimed that SPDC and Exxon Mobil were responsible for oil spills in five states-- Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Ondo and
Rivers states. Harry said that both companies had yet to commence a cleanup of the areas as well as pay compensation to victims affected by the oil spillage. “The Shell-Bonga oil spills, which destroyed human and economic activities in the five states is yet to be addressed despite several calls by the group. “Since Dec. 20, 2011 when the spill occurred, economic activities have been at the lowest ebb because fishermen can no longer find fishes and farmers can no longer farm or harvest their crops.
“FG should compel SPDC to clean up the environment and compensate victims as well as force Exxon Mobil to pay victims compensation for Idoho oil spillage. “The group will issue copies of our demands to the Presidency, Federal Ministries of Petroleum, Environment and the National Assembly, to ensure that these companies remedy the situation.” Harry said that CNDYR, in collaboration with the Civil Liberties Organisations, would seek court's redress, if their demands were not met within two weeks. Also, the Vice-Chairman of
the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) in Akwa Ibom, Mr David Akpakpan, told NAN that oil bearing communities in the Niger Delta had yet to benefit from crude oil sales. He claimed the region faced shortage of infrastructure, youth unemployment and empowerment, poverty and wide scale corruption. “The corruption in the region is massive because funds meant for meaningful projects that will improve the living standard of people of the region are diverted by greedy politicians. (NAN)
he Renewable Energy Village located in Kaduna has reached 80 per cent completion, according to an official of the Federal Ministry of Environment. A Senior Research Assistant, Renewable Energy Programme in the ministry, Mrs Ebere Akwani, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday. Akwani said that once completed, the village would be ready by end of the second or third quarter of 2014 and that it would address issues related to renewable energy in the country. “If you want products; if you want services; the renewable energy village will be able to give you all that you need. We don’t want to encourage influx of substandard goods into Nigeria. “Our aim at the end is to have it as a public-private partnership; we will supervise. “I liken it to a computer village that is the hub of communication, whether IT (Information Technology) or mobile telephony. “So, the renewable energy village is a government establishment but of course, it will be funded by people that will inhabit and use the Renewable Energy Village’’. Akwani said that the ministry would on December 20 organise a Renewable Energy Day, to create awareness on the need to harness the renewable potential in the country. The official said the day would be basically for reviewing and planning for the building up of the renewable energy sector in the country. “We must not deny the fact that renewable energy is the way to go right now; it is being embraced by developed nations and developing nations alike. It is for us to use the resources God has given to move Nigeria forward. According to her, the renewable energy day brings all these into the fore and actually fashion out the modality to embrace renewable energy. (NAN)