By Thompson ABISOLA
Eni, through its Nigerian subsidiary Agip Energy and Natural Resources (AENR) and its senior partner, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have commissioned model solar powered borehole for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and its host community in Waru, Abuja.
The borehole will provide safe and clean water to the IDPs and the host community of an estimated 4000 persons, including the IDPs that fled insurgency in North East Nigeria.
This initiative is specifically geared towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with particular emphasis on SDG1 – No Poverty; SDG 2 – Zero Hunger; SDG6 – Clean water and Sanitation; SDG13 – Climate Action and SDG17 – Public-Private Partnerships for the Goals.
The water scheme is electrically and solar powered with a photovoltaic system and is equipped with a reverse-osmosis plant to treat water to ensure it is potable. During the project implementation, the local authorities were involved to provide support in training and sensitizing the IDPs and the host community on water management and practices for long-term sustainability.
This is the first of 10 boreholes to be implemented within the framework of “Access to Water” project by NNPC/NAPIMS, Eni and FAO in the joint initiative to promote secure access to water in selected communities in the country, to which a collaborative agreement was earlier signed.
The project aims to contribute to the humanitarian interventions for internally displaced persons and host communities suffering from the crisis in North East Nigeria.
The GGM, NAPIMS, represented by the Public Affairs Department, Manager, Alhaji Ja’Afaru Aliyu, said the initiative was prioritized by the partners due to the strategic importance of water to human existence. He expressed the conviction that the community will preserve and make good use of the facility for their benefit, and assured that the partners will explore the possibility of further intervention in the community.
Lorenzo Fiorillo, AENR Managing Director, said: ““This project is the outcome of our fruitful cooperation with Nigerian authorities, our senior partner and FAO, and leverages our technical skills to improve the living conditions of the Waru community, allowing access to clean water. It is based on our belief that private Companies can and should cooperate with the public sector to play an active role in sustainable development.”
The FAO Country Representative in Nigeria and to ECOWAS Suffyan Koroma, said “the plan is to ensure that displaced persons and host communities have access to safe and adequate water for use in the households and for agriculture. This collaborative effort is geared towards guaranteeing sustainable food and nutrition security to the beneficiary community.”
The Representative of the FCT Minister, Barrister Tosin Olafusi, thanked NNPC, AENR and FAO for the project and assured that every effort will be made to sustain the facility.
Eni has been present in Nigeria since 1962 through its subsidiaries NAOC (Nigerian Agip Oil Company), AENR (Agip Energy and Natural Resources) and NAE (Nigerian Agip Exploration), with both onshore and offshore activities. Eni’s sustainability effort in Nigeria includes activities relating to agricultural development, access to energy, health, training, environmental protection, as well as specific initiatives for stakeholder engagement in local communities and promotion of transparency.
