Spotlight
Mbah Breaks 20-Year Old Water Jinx, Inaugurates Landmark Water Project
By: Staff Writer
…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
Nigerian Woman Breaks Guinness World Record With 55-Hour Interview Marathon
Nigerians are actively participating in the Guinness World Records breaking feats which is quite encouraging and interesting.
You can say this has been the order of the day for over a year now as determined individuals have been coming into the spotlight to showcase their ability to break previously held records on different skills and talents.
This time around, Nigerian social media entrepreneur Clara Chizoba Kronborg has broken the world record for the longest interviewing marathon with a time of 55 hours 24 seconds.
The previous record was 37 hours 44 minutes by Rob Oliver (USA) in 2022.
Congratulations to Clara Chizoba on her Guinness World Records feat.
Spotlight
President Tinubu Congratulates Tunde Onakoya On Guinness World Chess Record
President Bola Tinubu congratulates Mr. Tunde Onakoya on setting a new world chess record and sounding the gong of Nigeria’s resilience, self-belief, and ingenuity at the square of global acclaim.
Mr. Onakoya broke the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon on Saturday, after playing for over 58 hours and winning every match in tow.
President Tinubu celebrates the Nigerian Chess Champion and founder of Chess in Slums Africa for the rare feat, but especially for the reason driving this compelling demonstration of character, which is raising funds for African children to learn and find opportunity through chess.
The President states Mr. Onakoya has shown a streak customary among Nigeria’s youth population, the audacity to make good change happen; to baffle impossibility, and propel innovations and solutions to the nation’s challenges, even from corners of disadvantage.
The President affirms that Nigeria’s youths have demonstrated in all fields, including Afrobeats, Nollywood, the pulsating skit-making enterprise, education, science, and technology, that great exploits can truly come from small quarters.
President Tinubu commends the inclination of Nigerians – across artificial partitions – for unity, once again exemplified through their undiluted support for this epoch-making endeavour.
The President assures all citizens that his administration remains strongly committed to creating and expanding opportunities for the youth to explore and exercise their abilities and become the symbols of greatness our nation represents into the future.
Spotlight
Nigerian Chef, RossyG, Officially Ended Her 21 Days Cooking Marathon
Chef RossyG, who officially embarked on a 21 days cooking marathon on the 10th of March 2024 with the aim of breaking Guinness World Records for the longest cooking marathon by an individual, has now
surpassed Alan Fisher’s record for the longest cooking marathon.
She achieved this feat on the 31st of March 2024.
The longest cooking marathon by an individual is 119 hr 57 min 16 sec, and was achieved by Alan Fisher (Ireland) in Matsue, Shimane, Japan, from 28 September to 3 October 2023.
RossyG clocked an unbelievable 518 hours of nonstop cooking, a record that took her 21 days to set.
As jubilation continues for her, RossyG awaits a confirmation from Guinness World Records (GWR).
We applaud her tenacity and we congratulate her in advance.
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