The Association of Waterwell Drilling Rig Owners and Practitioners (AWDROP) in Nigeria, has offered to assist President Bola Tinubu- led Federal Government in the area of food security by deploying their expertise in groundwater resources on irrigation projects across the country.
The Association also decried that the Nigerian masses could no longer afford to drill borehole in their various homes, communities and places of work because of the rising cost of driling tools and materials, asking the Government to rescue the situation.
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Micheal Ale, President of the Association and Development expert, made the remarks during the Association‘s 7th National Borehole Practitioners Conference and Congress held at Reverton Hotel in Kogi State.
He said, “The cost of drilling boreholes had increased from the usual price more than tripple, which is beyond the reach of the middle class not to talk of the poor. Government should rise to the occasion and assist the poor.”
The event, organized by AWDROP, is a biannual gathering aimed at addressing the challenges of borehole sustainability in Nigeria’s current economic climate.
He also assured the Federal Government that the Association was ready to partner Government on other areas, especially in tackling water-borne diseases in order to ensure meaningful growth and development.
Ale, who highlighted the imperative of hiring technocrats such as members of AWDROP to assist on borehole sustainability right from the conceptualization stage to execution, expressed concerns over the humongous amount of money Government usually spends on borehole projects with little or no significant impact on the financial and social well-being of the communities they serve.
Noting that failure to fully partner with AWDROP in such areas accounts for the insignificant output, he therefore assured that the alarming rate of water-related diseases recorded in hospitals across the country, would drastically reduce if Federal Government partnered with his team in handling several water related projects.
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Ale itemized areas of needed partnership with Government to include technical and financial regulation within the sector, monitoring and supervision of projects, collecting data on dysfunctional facilities, and exploring water for irrigation to enhance food security, he added that: ” These are just a few areas where partnership could make a significant impact.
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