The Yobe State Government in collaboration with African Development Bank (AfDB) had spent N9 billion on provision of safe drinking water in the state in the last seven years.
Governor Ibrahim Gaidam made the disclosure at a two-day awareness and sensitisation workshop organised by the state government for members of the state House of Assembly held in Kano on Tuesday.
Mr Gaidam was represented by the Yobe Commissioner of Education, Muhammad Lamin.
He said the workshop was organised by the state government in collaboration with AfDB-assisted Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme.
According to him, the workshop is aimed at sensitising all members of Yobe State House of Assembly on the water laws and sanitation in the state.
“Yobe State has spent N6 billion in the provision of clean potable water, and the National Bureau of Statistics has rated the state 75 per cent for the improvement of water and sanitation.”
In his remarks, the Speaker, Adamu Dala, said that the workshop was organised to give the lawmakers an update in the four laws that would be enacted on water and sanitation in the state.
He added that the workshop was specially to create awareness to the state and other stakeholders on water law, policy base on policy direction and guidelines on water sector in line with international best practices.
“It is good for us to have the law to see the advantages, disadvantages, and to set a committee that will simply work on the laws.”
In his remarks, the Programme Manager, Yobe Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme, Musa Haruna, said the workshop was aimed at ensuring that the distance to fetch clean water was reduced.
“When water is not available you have to go far and sometimes when you go far, you don’t even get the clean water, you will end up getting contaminated or bad water.
“Yobe communities depend 90 per cent on farming, it is important for water to be provided to make them healthy and productive.”
Mr Haruna noted that the implementation of the programme had been on in the past seven years and would end by December 2019.
He expressed the hope that by the end of 2019, no fewer than three million people would be provided with clean water in the rural community.