By YANGE IKYAA
The minister of water resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, has urged The President and members of Borehole Drillers Association of Nigeria (BODAN) to always insist on carrying out water quality tests after drilling boreholes by taking advantage of the ministry’s world class water testing laboratories in all the geopolitical zones of the country in order to protect public health, as well as their company names and integrity.
Engr. Adamu gave the directive on Tuesday in Abuja when the president and members of BODAN paid him a courtesy visit.
In his remarks, the minister noted that water quality has been threatened, explaining further that the universal standard for water quality remains very important to the ministry of water resources.
He noted that the ministry has invested heavily in providing world class water testing laboratories across the country and therefore charged members of BODAN to comply with the laid down rules to ensure that they carry out adequate water quality tests and also report contractors and drillers who are not complying with appropriate regulatory measures.
Speaking further, Engr Adamu noted that population is growing rapidly across the nation and stressed that the Federal Government is not leaving any stone unturned in addressing the deficit in water supply.
He further pointed out that efforts are in top gear to ensure that the concerns raised by state governments on the current reality of water supply are addressed.
The minister urged BODAN members to come up with innovations that will use local products to support their businesses and deliver more potable water to all Nigerians.
Earlier in his address, the president of BODAN Francis Uzoma, said that the essence of the visit was to seek for ways to support the “Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign” as part of their corporate social responsibility towards ending the practice of open defecation in Nigeria by 2025.
Uzoma also said that as part of their collaborative effort, BODAN can help in the collection of borehole data that could be used in national development planning, especially with respect to water resources.
