Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on Saturday said that his administration was working to ensure that people in all parts of the state had access to potable water.

He said this at the commissioning of the Igborosun Micro Water Scheme in Badagry Local Government Area of the state.

Fashola, who was represented by the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, said that the new micro water scheme was one of the projects aimed at achieving the state’s objective.

He said that his administration was passionate about the lives of the people and would continue to inaugurate projects to complement existing water schemes until all the people had access to potable water.

 ``In the last six years, the government has provided 445 types of water projects of various designs in rural and semi-urban areas, based on their population and topography.

``The government has always complemented the efforts of the state water corporation with different water scheme designs in semi-urban and rural communities where the corporation is yet to extend its services.

 ``We are passionate about the lives of the people in Lagos State and we are determined to provide portable water for all the people across the state,’’ he said.

The governor disclosed that he had approved the construction of 28 additional water projects this year, promising that they would not be abandoned.

 He charged the community to ensure adequate maintenance of the newly inaugurated water scheme.

 Earlier, the Commissioner for Rural Development, Mr Cornelius Ojelabi, said that the water project was sited in the community to improve and transform the lives of the people of Igborosun and its environs.

 He noted that with the commissioning of the water project, the health care and hygiene of the people of the area would improve.

``The micro water scheme has a production capacity of 60,000 litres of wholesome water per run and three runs per day, which will translate to 180, 000 litres per day.

 ``We urge the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to complement the efforts of the ministry by providing the area with regular electricity in order to maximise the capacity of the water project for the benefit of the people,’’ he said.

The commissioner appealed to the people to take ownership of the project and ensure that it was well maintained and protected from vandals.

He also urged them to desist from acts that could contaminate the underground water, especially through open defecation and indiscriminate dumping of refuse among others.

In his remark, the chairman of the local government, Mr Husitode Moses Dosu, advised the people to maintain the facility properly to encourage the government to implement more projects in the area.

http://leadership.ng/news/010613/fashola-commissions-igborosun-micro-water-scheme