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*President Tinubu changing the face of Abuja’s neg
By Danladi Ahmed
The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has described the recently commissioned 194-kilometre water supply network in the nation’s capital, Abuja, as one of President Bola Tinubu’s major legacy projects for which he will be remembered long after leaving office as an inclusive development catalyst.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, the group said it was instructive that the project linking Karu, Jikwoyi, Kurudu, Orozo and other adjoining satellite towns was started and completed in less than one year.
The group further described the water supply network as one of the massive projects executed by the Tinubu administration in the least developed parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
TMSG said: “It is worth noting that works on the 194 kilometres water supply network to satellite towns began in August last year after a directive by President Bola Tinubu to FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, that water infrastructure from the Greater Abuja Water Supply Project be connected to those communities on the outskirts of Abuja metropolis.
“Like many Nigerians, we were pleasantly surprised that less than a year after the project, which is meant to provide clean, potable water to residents of those satellite communities, was ready for commissioning.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it was a project that Minister Wike began from scratch with funds paid to the contractors as early as possible because the federal government took it as a priority infrastructural project.
“Although it may not be on the scale of a legacy project like the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the fact that it involves the supply of water to satellite towns of Karu, Jikwoyi, Kurudu and Orozo, as well as adjoining communities, makes it a major legacy project for the teeming population.
“This is because the benefitting communities have never been linked to the FCT water supply network, which was why President Tinubu made a promise to extend water supply to satellite towns in August last year.
“So we want to place it on record that the massive water project with 194 kilometres of pipelines running through four satellite towns and adjoining communities was completed in a record time of 10 months.”
“For us, it is a fulfilment of a promise by the administration to make life better for people in multiple communities who have, for several years, been deprived of the right to potable water.”
TMSG also noted and commended the six-lane dual carriageway linking the Abuja airport to Kuje township.
“The dual carriageway into Kuje, a densely populated satellite town in the vicinity of the Airport in Abuja, had remained uncompleted since the contract for the project was awarded in 2022.
“But within a few years in office, a six-lane highway with a good drainage system is in place linking the satellite town to one of FCT’s major highways.
“We dare say this is a result of the political will of the President Tinubu administration to open up satellite towns and make them livable as well as the commitment of Minister Wike to deliver on good governance.
“Like the President said at the commissioning of the projects, true democracy must be felt at the grassroots, and we believe that there is no better way to do this than through projects that add quantum value to people’s lives.
‘And lest we forget, there is another major dual carriageway linking Kuje to Gwagwalada, another densely populated part of the FCT, which is nearing completion and slated for commissioning in a few weeks.
“So it is safe to say that the President Tinubu administration is indeed fast changing the face of infrastructure in the FCT, as well as expanding development to hitherto neglected parts of the nation’s capital,” the statement added.
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