Secretary to the Federal Government, Mr Boss Mustapha, inaugurated a N23.5 billion township water supply scheme in Bauchi on Thursday on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The scheme was executed by the Federal Government under the World Bank Third National Urban Sector Reform Project (NUWSRP3).
Mustapha said at the inauguration that the Federal Government accorded priority to projects that would accelerate economic development through the harnessing of natural resources such as water.
He explained that the project aimed at addressing water scarcity in the urban area of the Bauchi State capital.
Mustapha also commended the Bauchi State government for providing the counterpart funding of 10 per cent on the project in which the World Bank gave 90 per cent of the contract sum.
“Bauchi is home to me as I always enjoy your popular support,
“I urge the good people of this state to reciprocate the gesture by helping in the maintenance of the scheme,’’ Mustapha said in a message sent by the president.
In his remarks, Gov. Bala Mohammed appreciated the Federal Government for its concern for the state and appealed for more federal presence through the provision of additional infrastructure.
Also speaking at the inauguration, Mr Shubham Chaudhuri, the Country Director of the World Bank in Nigeria, assured that it would continue to support states and nations desirous to promote water and sanitation.
He noted that the Bauchi State and the bank succeeded in executing the project in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The upgraded water scheme is expected to supply 75 million litres of water to the more than one million residents of Bauchi metropolis and its environs daily.