BY FRANCIS NANSAK, LAFIA
The Federal Government has approved the construction of two dams in Lafia and Tide, as well as the completion of the Farin Ruwa project for hydropower generation, irrigation and water supply.
The Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State confirmed this development when he presided over a state executive council meeting which held at the Government House on Thursday.
The Governor tendered before the council a letter of approval from the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, signed by the Minister, Engr. Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, for the construction of a dam each in Lafia and Tide, as well as the completion of the Farin Ruwa project for the purposes of hydropower generation, irrigation and water supply.
He said the Minister wrote to inform the state government about the projects, while also requesting for support in the areas of community sensitisation, compensation, and security for the sites of the projects.
Governor Sule equally presented another letter before the council from the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, requesting him for approval to host the sixth edition of the National Council on Mining and Mineral Resources Development in Lafia come August this year.
In the letter from Alake, Nasarawa State is selected to host the National Council on Mining and Mineral Resources for the years 2024 and 2025 because of the prominent role the state is playing in the area of solid minerals development.
“Accordingly, and with your prominence in solid minerals development, I write to request Your Excellency to graciously approve the hosting of the combined 2024/25 edition of the council meeting to be held in August 2025. In case August is not convenient, we work with whatever date that His Excellency is giving us because we want to ensure that the event is held in Nasarawa State,” The letter reads.
The council also deliberated on the planned visit by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the state to commission some projects as part of activities marking his second year in office.
Governor Sule disclosed that he is in receipt of communication indicating that the President is willing to visit Nasarawa State between 16th and 25th of June, urging members of the council to immediately commence efforts to prepare for the event.
“I received a call during the weekend that Mr. President gave us dates to select and to get back to him to confirm. He gave us a wide range and asked us to select. He said that he is willing to come to Nasarawa State to commission these projects on any date that we select between the 16th and 25th of June. I just selected 25th June in order to give us enough time to plan. The essence of the meeting since I am going to travel, is to ensure that I leave a very good preparation on ground so that we would be ready even from the 16th that he has given, in case we get feedback from him for a later date. We will discuss the projects during the course of the meeting,” he added.
Also, as part of the agenda for the meeting, the Governor brought up the issue of the N9.75bn refund from the Federal Government for taking over ownership of the Lafia Airport, now known as Usman Dan Fodio Airport.
He briefed the council about his earlier meeting with critical stakeholders where it was decides to deploy the refund towards completing the Kwandere-Sabon Gida Road.
“The consensus during the meeting was that we should try as much as possible to utilise that airport properly. And the only way you can get that airport properly utilised is for us to continue with the construction of the road between Kwandere and Sabongida.
