ABUJA – The Akwa Ibom Government on Monday said it had constructed more than 140 bore holes from 2011 till date.
The Special Assistant to the Governor on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Mr Steve Akpan, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
He said that the state had substantial target on goal seven of the MDGs on environmental sustainability.
He said that the construction of the bore holes was part of efforts to ensure that the state attained the MDGs.
According to him, “we have invested so much in water project; it has been one of our major focus in the last 4 years.
“In 2011, we constructed 40 solar bole holes. In 2012, we did over 50 and currently we are working to attain the level of another 50.
“In 2011, we noticed gaps in some places; we had to construct more pipe-borne water to provide for about 11 to 12 villages at a time.
“Today, those villages have water to drink because it is constructed by solar energy. In terms of water, we have done a lot to ensure that our people have portable water.
“The 50 solar power bole holes are currently serving more than 100 communities and the water is one of the best in terms of quality.
“We make sure it circulates to areas where it will allow people leaving around the community to have access to it.
“It was dug deep in order to have good water for the people, so we are providing the best water for our people,’’ he said.
Akpan said that the MDGs office had embarked on sensitisation of the entire communities to ensure that the state improved on sanitation.
According to him, “we make sure that we keep our environment clean, and also sensitise the entire communities to how to maintain clean environment.
“The MDGs office had intervened in investing on Ventilated Improved Pit toilets (VIP).
“When we find out that some communities don’t have good toilet, we provide them with more VIP toilets, so we have been able to tackle that issue.
“I believe we no longer have such cases because we intervene in most of the communities that don’t have good toilets.
“The governor is always ready to disburse funds to complement whatever the Federal Government is doing to enable the MDGs office implement projects. (NAN)
