Wike flags off Karu water supply project in Abuja

…pledges access to clean water by 2026

By Kunle Sanni –

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has inaugurated the Karu water supply project, marking a major step toward providing clean and potable water to satellite towns in the FCT.

The project, which falls under Lot 2 of the FCT water expansion initiative, involves the installation of a 194-kilometer network of water pipelines within the Abuja Municipal Area Council. According to the Minister, the development fulfills President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s promise to extend essential infrastructure, particularly clean drinking water, to underserved communities.

“This is one of the promises made by Mr. President when he commissioned the Greater Abuja Water Supply Scheme in June. He said he was going to do this in the satellite towns, and we have started with Bwari and AMAC,” Wike said at the ceremony.

He assured residents that similar projects would begin in Kuje, Gwagwalada, Kwali, and Abaji before the end of the President’s first term, adding that 50 percent of the contract sum has already been disbursed to ensure timely completion.

The Minister urged residents and community leaders to support the contractor, China Geoengineering Construction (CGC), which has committed to completing the Karu water project by June 2026. He emphasized the health benefits of treated water, noting:

“You will no longer depend on digging your own borehole, drinking water that is not treated. Now you are going to drink water that is going to give you good health.”

Beyond water supply, Wike reiterated the administration’s focus on infrastructure development in satellite towns, citing the recently rehabilitated 17-kilometer road connecting Karu, Jikwoyi, Orozo, Kurudu, and Karshi. He also pledged to reconstruct an additional two-kilometer road within the Karu project site.

“Don’t listen to those who will come with promises. They had all the opportunities and they couldn’t do it,” the Minister added, urging residents to support leaders committed to tangible development.