The Federal Executive Council, FEC, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday approved N8.4 billion for the construction of a dam for the Damaturu Water Supply project in Yobe State.
The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting in Abuja.
Mr Adamu expressed optimism that the approval would help address water supply challenges facing the inhabitants of the state occasioned by the activities of insurgents.
He said: “I presented a memo for the construction of Damaturu water supply project in Yobe State in favour of three contractors at a total sum of N8.43 billion.
“The contracts divided into three are all groundwater or borehole-based projects spread over a wide distance because they are covering three major cities.
“They will be mostly solar based and also they are in response to the critical needs of these localities within Yobe State, especially as they have been suffering a lot because these areas are affected by the Boko Haram insurgency which started several years ago and therefore, we need to support their water supply needs.
“These are high Sahelian regions where surface water is difficult to come by so we hope that by this intervention, the water supply in these locations would be greatly enhanced.”
According to the minister, the project has a completion period of 24 months.
NAN
