Relief has come  the way of no fewer than 50,000 residents of Jebba, Kwara State, following the construction of a mini-waterworks in the community.

 Oba of Jebba, Alhaji Abdukadir Adebara said on Tuesday that the community had been experiencing lack of potable water before Guinness Nigeria Plc built the waterworks.

 According to him, members of the community spend fortunes and pass through great stress to buy water at exorbitant price.

He stated that the inauguration of the mini-waterworks tagged ‘Water of Life,' at Jebba, would go a long way in alleviating needs and improving the health standards of the people.

Adebara said, "Though we are close to River Niger, we cannot drink the water. With this intervention some of our water problems have been solved."

Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed and the Director, Corporate Relations, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Sesan Sobowale, at the inauguration, urged stakeholders to collaborate to ensure better access to potable water by Nigerians.

Ahmed was represented by the state Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr. Garba Idris.

Sobowale, who was represented by the firm's Head of Public Policy, Mr. Michael Onuoha, said the project comprised boreholes, overhead storage tank, water treatment plant and standby generator.

Sobowale said, "We have completed water projects in over 15 states in Abia, Rivers, Lagos, Ogun, Niger, Nassarawa, Edo, Benue, Oyo, Imo, Ondo, Ekiti, Enugu and Anambra. Kwara State has joined that growing number."

He said access to safe water was a global concern, adding that there were about 1 billion people living without access to potable water across the world.

 Sobowale appealed to the state government and the water corporation to support the benefiting community, financially and technically, in maintaining the project.

 He also urged the community to optimise the benefits of the initiative and ensure its proper management.