… Inaugurates Water Project

Gov. Sullivan Chime of EnuguState has urged communities that benefited from government projects to safeguard and maintain them.

He gave the advice on Saturday when he inaugurated a N14 million water project at Umude Nru, Nsukka Local Government area.

Chime, who was represented by Mr Charles Ajah, the Commissioner of Water Resources, stressed that government’s efforts to provide social amenities for the citizens would be meaningless if the beneficiary communities could not protect and maintain them.

“Communities should assist government in developing the state by ensuring that government projects are well-maintained and protected.

“My administration will continue to do its best by ensuring that residents have access to good drinking water,’’ he said.

The governor commended the community and the contractor for the hitch-free completion of the project, noting that if the community had been hostile to the contractor, the project’s execution would have been fraught with problems.

“Government is also happy with the contractor, Phinotee Engineering Company, for delivering the project on time,” he said.

The traditional ruler of Umude Nru, Igwe Sylivenus Aruma, assured the governor that the community would do everything possible to protect the project.

Aruma recalled that members of the community had spent much money in buying water from water vendors in the past.

“We are happy that our ordeal in getting drinking water has come to an end today. This is the greatest thing the government has done for the community,” he said

The monarch also commended Mr Fabian Onah, a former member of the state House of Assembly for facilitating the project’s completion.

“Onah has shown great love and care for the community. He is a worthy son of this community; he has assisted members of the community in numerous ways via his philanthropic gestures,’’ he said.

Mr Tony Ugwu, the Chairman of Nsukka Local Government Council, pledged that other communities in the council area would soon benefit from the water scheme.

The Tide source reports that the highlight of the occasion was the inauguration of a 12-man committee, chaired by Onah, to oversee to the project’s maintenance.