The Commissioner of the Kogi State Ministry of Water Resources, Mr. Farouk Yahaya says that the 2025 budget will improve water supply to households in both rural communities and the capital, Lokoja.
Yahaya stated this when he appeared before the 8th Kogi Parliament to defend the 2025 budget.
He noted that after the 2022 flood disaster in the state that led to the burst of water pipes, some areas experienced partial cuts while others were completely cut off.
“The growing demand of the people for water restoration also caught the attention of Governor Usman Ododo and water restoration in households began gradually.”
However, legislators called the commissioner’s attention to some areas that still lacked water.
In his response, water has not been restored in some areas because of some challenges such as vandalism of water pipes and equipment by miscreants, which hampered their performance in 2024 saying some cases of the crimes were in court
The Commissioner therefore called for the protection of water pipes and other equipment for better performance in 2025.
“Despite the presence of security personnel, our equipment is being vandalized and stolen. We can’t rule out the fact that some of our staff are complicit of this crime, it is also done in collaboration with the host community and some security personnel. In Idah for instance, a complete chemical room was cleared off. A big Generator meant to power our water plant was also removed…right now we are in court with some of those vandals”.
During the presentation it was noticed that the Water Board which is a subsidiary of the ministry was inadequately funded, chemical treatments were not abundant, and the commissioner promised to address the challenges with the 2025 budget.
The lawmakers found some errors in their documents and ordered corrections. They judged the performance of the previous budget as not very good and expect a better performance with the 2025 budget.
PIAK
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