Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State has lauded the federal government on quick intervention over Asa River dredging in the state.
Speaking after the FG delegation visited the state through their representative from Ecological Fund Office, Dr Joel Oruche, the governor thanked the federal government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The governor, who said that Asa River had caused havoc to the state in recent years, charged the new contractor for the project, Eurobel International Limited, to do a good job and also engage the citizens of the state to actualise the project.
He said the state is like Oliver Twist that still wants the federal government to extend her gesture beyond Asa River dredging, saying that the state would be glad if other places that are beyond the state ability could be touched.
“I am happy that the project is finally taking off. Before the inception of this administration, some work had been done on the Asa River.
“We were not truly satisfied though we were told it was phase one. Because since we came in, the perennial flood in those areas has caused so much havoc displacing the communities and causing environmental degradation.
“That led us to push for another assessment so that the project can be looked into.
“We are glad that our push has come to fruition now and we are happy to see you on the site. We hope it takes less than the 18 months you projected. We have seasonally spent a lot of money to make sure our communities and our people are kept safe.
“What you (the Federal Government) do is very important to us and we thank the Federal Government and also look forward to the contractor playing their own role to make sure that they deliver the project not just on time but before the time.”
In his remark, Dr Oruche said their visit was to inform the governor of the resumption of channelization of Asa River in Kwara state, saying Eurobel International Limited would complete the job within 18 months.
“Our main purpose of coming to the state is to officially hand over the project site to the contractor so that it will be officially flagged off. Today, the contractor takes over and we start to count for him for the next 18 months,” he said.
Kwara State Environmental Taskforce Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Abdulrazaq Jiddah, said that the government had committed huge resources to tackle the annual flooding in the metropolis, urging the contractor to be conscious of quality and timeline of work.
He enjoined the contractor to engage the service of youths in the host communities in order to give them a sense of belonging in addition to boosting the economy.
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