President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the National Assembly to pass the National Water Resources Bill, to make potable drinking water more accessible to the public.
Buhari made the appeal when he inaugurated the Zobe Dam Regional Water Scheme on Thursday.
The dam was jointly constructed by the Federal and Katsina State Governments at Dutsinma Local Government Area of Katsina State on Thursday.
While noting that the passage of the bill would promote personal hygiene and sanitation among Nigerians, the President called on state governments to collaborate with the Federal Government to ensure that people had access to potable drinking water.
Buhari lamented that the Zobe regional water scheme, which began many years ago, suffered neglect, but praised the Katsina State Government for collaborating with the Federal Government to complete the work.
Earlier, in a remark, the Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, said the water scheme had already started supplying water to several communities in the state.
Areas already covered included Dutsin-ma, Katsina, Kankia, Kurfi, Soli and Kurfi.
Masari, however, added that more funds needed to be committee to make the dam fully functional.
“About N4 billion would still be required to complete the water scheme,” he said.