FG to complete 117 abandoned projects in water sector —Minister

The Federal Government has said that with the technical audit of 117 abandoned water projects, the ministry will complete about 25 per cent of the viable ones in the year 2017.

The Minister of Water Resources, Engineer Suleiman Adamu, disclosed this when the 44- member House Committee on Water Resources paid him an oversight visit on Thursday in Abuja.

Adamu reiterated his earlier position that the ministry would not be involved in the construction of new projects.

Instead, he said the Ministry was focused on completion of the abandoned 117 water projects nationwide.

To this end, he called for adequate and timely release of budgetary allocations to the sector in order to contribute immensely towards the realisation of the policy thrust of the administration.

Also, he called on the members of the Committee to comply with guidelines that would be encapsulated in the yet to be released Water Resources Master Plan in selecting constituency projects.

“Henceforth, all projects must follow the Master Plan for projects implementation and monitoring, and most especially, the River Basins must be made to function for the original mandate they were meant for”, he said.

However, he added that to capture any new project, such project must be in the Water Resource Master Plan, support the energy deficiency of the nation and support the ministry flagship farmers’ empowerment scheme that would drive the agricultural policy thrust of the Federal Government.

“Honourable Chairman and members of the Committee on Water Resources, I humbly solicit your usual cooperation and understanding to assist the Ministry to enable it continue to carry out its mandate more efficiently and effectively in the interest of this great nation”, he said.

Responding on behalf of members of the Committee, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Aliyu Pategi said  the visit which was part of the committee’s constitutional duties was aimed at scrutinising the Ministry’s books and addressing its general performance with emphasis on the 2015/2016 financial year.

He said that the Committee had been in a good working relationship with the Ministry and hoped to further strengthen that relationship for the benefit of the nation.