Spotlight

Mbah Breaks 20-Year Old Water Jinx, Inaugurates Landmark Water Project

By: Staff Writer

Published

12 months ago

November 25, 2023

grassroots

Governor Peter Mbah commissions Enugu Water Project -

…Builds 4.4MW gas plant to guarantee water supply

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has commissioned a 70 million litre per day water project in Enugu, saying his administration had raised potable water production capacity from the occasional 2 million litres per day to 120 million litres per day.

Commissioning the project known as the 9th Mile 24/7 Water Scheme on Saturday in fulfillment of his campaign promise to restore water to Enugu city in 180 days from the date of his inauguration, Dr. Mbah explained that the 4.4mw gas-powered plant built by his administration to supply power at the scheme would ensure uninterrupted water supply to Enugu residents.

Regretting the dire water challenges faced by Enugu residents before now, he said availability of potable water was consequential to his administration’s vision to raise the state’s economy from $.4.4 billion to $30 billion GDP in four to eight years.

“It was clear to us, that the status of water supply at the time was deplorable. At that time, there had been no reliable water supply in most parts of Enugu State for almost 20 years.

“One need not be a rocket scientist to discern that few investors will be attracted to the state under such dire circumstances, nor can existing businesses expand to generate additional jobs and economic growth. If anything, these conditions are suffocating businesses and households and leading to unnecessary suffering across the State.

“Faced with this fundamental issue, and considering the suffering of Ndi Enugu, it was only natural that we identified provision of water as one of our first targets in the drive to execute our mandate and social contract with citizens of Enugu.

“We also chose to give ourselves a target of resolving this challenge in 180 days not for the purpose of chest-thumping but rather because first, the issue is urgent. We did not want Ndi Enugu to suffer unduly for even one minute longer than avoidable, and, second, we saw this as an opportunity to galvanize Ndi Enugu for the tough tasks ahead and whip our administration into gear as quickly as possible,” he said.

Mbah recalled that the promise to provide potable water within the timeline of 180 days “triggered disbelief in most quarters and that is perhaps understandable, realising the countless successive, but fruitless attempts to address the problem.

“Happily, for us all, here we are, 180 days from that promise, commissioning this new ultra-modern water scheme with a capacity to deliver to businesses and families in Enugu 70 million litres of potable water daily and this is but the first phase. In a few weeks, we will also be commissioning new pumps in Oji water scheme to enable us to deliver another 50 million litres of water every day. This will give us a total daily delivery of 120 million litres in Enugu, about twice the daily demand of Enugu urban.

“We are currently supplying water at appreciable pressures to Enugu municipality and I can state here and now that pipe-borne water is here to stay,” Mbah said.

While acknowledging some challenges in the downstream part of the water supply, he stressed: “Of course, there are instances of burst pipes around the metropolis, but this was not unexpected, given the age of a number of our lines. However, these constitute but teething problems which we will surely surmount in a matter of weeks and constant water 365 days of the year will once again be a reality in Enugu.”

The governor equally assured that effort would be intensified to extend pipe-borne water to a number of major residential areas, which developed since the last major pipe-laying projects in Enugu.

“In addition, the towns outside Enugu also have varied degrees of water problems. Now that we can see the end of the water issues around Enugu urban, we must now refocus to address towns like Nsukka, Oji, Udi, etc.,” he said, urging the cooperation of the residents in the payment for services and protection of the facilities.

“Reliable water supply is not cheap! But I promise that this water will be far less expensive than what you are spending today on water tanker supply. We must be willing to pay for connection to the meters, which will be installed in our homes and businesses, and pay a fair monthly rate for the water we consume.

“Second, the infrastructure that we have put in place, from this scheme here to the pipes going into our various residential areas, belong to Ndi Enugu and must be optimised. We cannot afford for them to be vandalized or stolen! Therefore, we must consider it our duty to look after this infrastructure”, he said.

Spotlight

Concerned citizens appeal to Gov Sanwo-Olu, Dangote Foundation, Banks, MTN Foundation, NNPC, others to assist journalist for brain surgery

Published

2 days ago

November 19, 2024

grassroots

Journalist- Kola Kuforiji

Some concerned citizens including media and corporate affairs practitioners have appealed to Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Banks, Dangote Foundation, MTN Foundation and other notable organizations and citizens to help provide financial assistance for Kolawole Kuforiji, a Nigerian journalist who requires Deep Brain Stimulation surgery that is expected to cost $35,000 (USD) about N57 million in Turkey.

Specifically, friends of Kola Kuforiji that initiated moves to seek financial support from concerned organisations and citizens have so far sent SOS For Journalist Kola Kuforiji requesting for financial assistance to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Dangote Foundation, MTN Foundation, All Nigerian Banks through the Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB), NNPC Foundation, Chevron Nigeria Foundation, Guinness Nigeria Foundation, Nigerian Breweries Foundation, Shell Nigeria Foundation, Total E&P Nigeria Foundation and Babcock University.

Beside the calls for institutional supports to save the life of Kola Kuforiji, the group of friends have opened an bank account with Polaris Bank (Name of Account: SOS FOR JOURNALIST KOLA KUFORIJI/ Account Number: 1790322317) and have started making individual donations.

Donations to the fund from as little as N1,000 donor to N150,000 donors has rising to N842,940.00 from the last count.

The life of Kola, a 54-year-old husband and father of two, who had worked for about two decades with Rhythm FM (Sliverbird Group) reporting business was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with a drug-resistant, Parkinson’s disease with pronounced difficulty in walking and tremor has been very ill for more than two years and the severity and debilitating nature of his illness has depleted the finances of his family.

He was initially treated at Ikorodu General Hospital, Lagos, where a presumptive diagnosis of his medical condition was made.

He was over a year ago referred to LASUTH, but there has been little improvement in his health.

Medical treatment abroad now offers the best option for his recovery with a recommendation from Atasehir Medicana International Hospital – Atasehir / Istanbul, Turkey confirming that he will need a Deep Brain Stimulation surgery.

Over the years Kola has explored his media platform as a strong tool to drive financial inclusion and expanding frontier of knowledge of Nigerians on the activities and stride of the energy, banking and finance sectors at large to national development.

Despite his illness, Kola remains hopeful and determined to overcome.

Spotlight

Teresa Anania Joins Sophos as Chief Customer Officer

Published

4 months ago

July 22, 2024

grassroots

Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, today announced that Teresa Anania has joined the company as Chief Customer Officer (CCO).

Anania will play a key role in accelerating Sophos’ customer and partner success initiatives to maximize value of Sophos’ portfolio of cybersecurity solutions and services, including Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services and endpoint, network, email, and cloud security.

Anania has more than 25 years of experience in leading customer satisfaction and sales growth across public and private sectors, excelling in both direct and indirect sales channels.

Joining Sophos from Zendesk, Anania was responsible for the management and development of its global client base of more than 110,000 customers from small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB) to enterprises. During her time at Zendesk, Anania led all post-sales functions, including Professional Services, Customer Support, Customer Service, Customer Success and Renewals, to deliver top line growth and measurable impact for customers. Anania has extensive experience specializing in scaling post-sales customer engagement for enterprise, commercial, and volume segments, delivering significant Return on Investment (ROI) and driving revenue.

As CCO, Anania will be responsible for developing a stronger customer-centric culture, working together with channel partners and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to deliver a seamless experience for Sophos’ growing customer base of more than 600,000 organizations worldwide. This vision also provides assurance that smaller customers, which are a prime target for attackers, have access to the same innovative security solutions and industry-leading threat intelligence as their larger counterparts, a critical overall mission for Sophos in 2024 and beyond.

“Sophos is in an exciting phase of its business growth, and I am eager to bring my career success building positive customer experiences to the company,” said Anania. “Sophos has a stellar reputation for continually innovating cybersecurity technology and managed security services that help organizations defend their businesses against ransomware, data breaches and other potentially business-ending cyberattacks. I will be working closely with channel partners, MSPs, and the global team, to advocate for Sophos’ customers and their security defenses and to drive value for partners from Sophos’ entire portfolio of solutions and services.”

“The threat landscape is always changing, and organizations need regular, interactive assessments of their overall IT environments to determine how to most efficiently and effectively adapt to defeat active attackers. To help facilitate this, security vendors need to take responsibility to ensure that customer investments in their products and services are providing real value to them, which requires engagement throughout contract lifecycles. This also requires world-class customer experience (CX) for renewals and upgrades to the most relevant and appropriate technologies and services, and an awareness of the full potential already available in existing licenses. The best tool is of little value without the right operation, so these components are critical to properly and consistently defending against modern attacks,” said Joe Levy, CEO of Sophos. “To provide this pathway, we’ve hired Teresa, who has an impressive track record building post-sales relationships and delivering experiences that increase customer satisfaction and drive topline growth. Her knowledge and expertise will allow us to further put customers at the center of our business, alongside our channel partners and MSPs. Most importantly, Teresa’s new role will help keep our customers as secure as possible, which is always our top priority. We are delighted to welcome Teresa to the Sophos team.”

Spotlight

Ijesha Digital Innovation Hub Set to Graduate First Cohort Trainees

Published

5 months ago

July 5, 2024

grassroots

Ijesha Digital Innovation Hub has announced the graduation ceremony of its first cohort of trainees.

The landmark event will take place on Monday, July 8th, 2024, starting promptly at 2:00 PM at the Royal Park Hotel on the beautiful campus of Olashore International School, Iloko-Ijesa.

In a press statement on Friday, Dr Adewale Alonge, Vice President, IGAD, said that after six months of intensive and globally benchmarked courses of study, “the hub is proud to graduate 48 trainees who have completed rigorous programs leading to certification in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, and UI/UX Design. The graduating class includes 10 trainees in UI/UX Design, 23 in Cybersecurity, and 15 in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning”.

The ceremony will feature a keynote address by Sir Aladekomo, Chairman of SmartCity Resorts Plc and Founder of Chams Plc, a pioneer in the Nigerian tech industry.

“The event will be chaired by Asiwaju Yinka Fasuyi, the esteemed Asiwaju of Ijeshaland, who will also deliver remarks celebrating the achievements of the graduates and the impact of the Innovation Hub.

“The media is invited to cover this significant event, which marks a new chapter for the 48 graduates as they embark on their professional journeys equipped with cutting-edge skills and knowledge. This graduation is a testament to the hub’s commitment to providing skills development training today so that participants can build tomorrow”, Dr. Alonge said.

The Ijesha Digital Innovation Hub, an initiative of the Ijesha Global Alliance for Development (IGAD), is dedicated to advancing the social, economic, and industrial development of Ijesaland in Nigeria. IGAD, a Florida, US-registered tax-exempt non-profit organization, mobilizes the resources and talents of Ijesas across the globe to foster the development of their homeland.

About Ijesha Digital Innovation Hub

The Ijesha Digital Innovation Hub is committed to equipping individuals with the skills necessary to thrive in the digital age. Our mission is encapsulated in our motto: “We provide skills development training today, so that you can build tomorrow.” #WeGuideTodaySoThatYouCanBuildTomorrow

About Ijesha Global Alliance for Development (IGAD)

IGAD’s mission is to mobilize the resources and talents of Ijesas across the globe to promote the social, economic, and industrial development of Ijesaland. IGAD is a registered tax-exempt, non-profit organization based in Florida, USA. IGAD’s Board of Directors, is chaired by Prince Bimbo Olashore, and it includes: Dr. Adewale Alonge, Pastor Laitan Obileye, Dr. Babatunde Ojo, Alhaji Lateef A. Bakare, Sir Ademola Aladekomo and Professor Olowookere.