Kwara governor directs ministry to deliver water within 100 days

TROUBLED by persistent water scarcity in the state capital, Governor AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq has directed the Ministry of Water Resources to deliver constant water supply to specific areas of Ilorin within 100 days.

He also asked the ministry and affected consultants to deliver water to every part of the state by getting all the dams working, pledging to give them the necessary support.

The governor gave the charge during a visit to Agba Dam, Asa Dam Water Works and Western Reservoir (Adewole area) where he lamented that no part of the state gets constant water supply despite the over N6billion already sunk into the water reticulation project by past governments.

Governor Abdulrazaq said he might wield the big stick in the form of “house cleaning” if the ministry does not deliver on his directive.

“We have a mandate to deliver water to our people and within the next 100 days. For a start, I want to see constant water supply in specific areas of Ilorin, it may be Ilorin East, South or West or anything (where these particular dams cover),” he said after listening to the ministry’s officials.

“Don’t keep talking. We want action. Our people want water. No part of Ilorin or anywhere in this state do people have water. Raise a memo to state what the problems are and what’s needed to fix them. People are tired of (empty) talk.

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“We have to solve the problems now. Forget the big word reticulation, let’s fix the problem. We need immediate memo on what the problems are and we will give you all the support,” he said.

Abdulrazaq said his administration is determined to provide potable water to the entire state, even if in phases, in line with its campaign promises.

“We need to think out of the box. I’m serious about having water in our homes within 100 days. We have the mandate to deliver water to our people,” he said.

Also speaking, General Manager of Water Corporation, Alhaji Yahaya Tunde, said constant electricity supply and treatment materials are the major challenges.

He said all the waterworks are currently disconnected from power supply because they owe the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) at least N24m. He said they have a monthly electricity bill of N9.7m.

Apart from the ongoing strike action by staff of the waterworks, Tunde also said they needed modern equipment that can monitor water pressure and detect when pipes go bad.

Abdulrazaq had earlier visited the Kwara State Inland Revenue Service (KW-IRS) where he also directed the body to submit a memo to give a clear picture of the happenings there, including how to perform optimally.

He also visited the Ilorin General Hospital where he announced that the state would host a health summit for stakeholders from across the sector on how to improve health delivery in the state.

Restating his commitment to telemedicine, Abdulrazaq said he would consider better funding and autonomy for the state’s premier hospital as the launchpad of the 21st medical technology.

He also visited the Kwara State College of Nursing and Midwifery, the Bureau of Land and Kwara State Fire Service where officials made presentations to him on the state of things.