Alhaji Al-Mustapha Abubakar, Head, Local Government Administration, Mani Local Government of Katsina has pledged to improve access to potable water for remote communities.
Abubakar told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Mani that some communities’ inability to get water was due to soil nature.
He stated that there were instances where wells had to be dug for 150 meters without getting water.
NAN reports that Mani is one of the six local government areas currently being validated by a team of the National Task Group on Sanitation (NTGS).
The council head said that the state government had begun the expansion of semi water schemes through the provision of motorised boreholes for Mani and Muduru axis.
“The state government has awarded contract for the construction of new wells, although, I do not know if it is on direct labour or contractual basis, to the sum of N82 million.
“This is to supplement the existing ones and ensure that some hard-to-reach communities are brought in.
“Every month, the state government provides the semi-urban water schemes with 5000 litres of diesel in case of power failure, to ensure that water is pumped for households.
“Mani is enjoying 3,000 litres while Muduru enjoys 2,000 litres in case of power failure. Within the next few months, I assure you that all communities will enjoy water supply,” Abubakar said.
The District Head of Mani, Alhaji Idris Babani, said that traditional rulers had taken ownership of scaling up efforts of sanitation and hygiene interventions.
Babani said the role that traditional rulers played in any development effort was integral as they were key to its success or failure.
He pledged to continue to encourage community participation to promote sustainability and overall efforts for hygiene promotion and behaviour change.
Earlier, the NTGS Team leader, Mrs. Theresa Maduekwe, urged the local government to map out sustainability plans through training and re-training of community members on improving hygiene practices.
Maduekwe said there was also the need to have Environmental Health Clubs in schools to enable young children become hygiene heroes and agents of behavior change (NAN).