Nigeria Has Taken 10 Steps Backwards - Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe

Nigerian Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, on Wednesday, said Nigeria has taken one step forward and 10 steps backwards during plenary.

The senator representing the Abia-South Senatorial District of Abia State decried the critical state of pipe-borne water in the country.

“It is only in Abuja that one can find pipe-borne water. It’s a disgrace to Nigeria. We’ve gone one step forward and 10 steps back. We should be providing pipe-born water to every household in Nigeria,” he said.

Abaribe was reacting to Senator Dino Melaye’s comment on the alarming rate of scarcity of water supply in the nation.

Melaye said, “The Nigerian water sector is in critical condition. The situation is alarming and calls for immediate intervention.”

Senator Abaribe stated afterwards that an investigation should be made by the “committee” to find out what the fund on water has been used on.

Consequently, the Senate directed the committee on water supply to carry out a holistic investigation into the declining state of water in Nigeria. The Red chamber also urged the federal government to embark on a long-term commitment to find a pathway for better water delivery in Nigeria.

Senate President Bukola Saraki said the senate needs to get to the bottom of the water issue and find a solution that will improve water supply to Nigeria.

Saraki said the committee should take the work with the importance it deserves and quickly carry out investigations to particularly block the leakages in the area of corruption

He added, “This is of great concern to us. As a country, it is very embarrassing if our decline has gone down to 7% from 32%. As we all know, as a country, there must be adequate water supply for all our operations.”