By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja
Kogi Commissioner for Water Resources, Daladi Yahaya Farouk, has decried the vandalization of water treatment equipment in the State.
The Commissioner who disclosed this while defending his Ministry’s 2025 budget at Kogi State House of Assembly complex on Tuesday in Lokoja, said the phenomenon had continued to frustrate the Ministry’s public water supply efforts.
He said that though some arrests were made in a few places, the vandalisation had not abated as the vandals have continued to defy the presence of security personnel.
“We can’t rule out the fact that some of our staff are complicit in this crime, it is also done in collaboration with some members of the host communities 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.
“The same thing happened in Ankpa. Right now we are in court with some of the vandals who wanted to remove our equipment at Ayegunle-Gbede and Lokoja respectively”, he stated.
Presently, he said, the Ministry is collaborating with traditional rulers and security agencies as part of measures to safeguard its equipment across the 21 Local Government Area of the State.
ENGR Farouk however identified shortage of staff and dearth of operational vehicles as some of the challenges militating against the Ministry’s determination to ensure adequate supply of water to meet the domestic and industrial needs of the state.
Earlier, Chairman of the House standing Committee on Water Resources, Hon. Bin-Ebaiya Shehu-Tijani in his address, urged that due cognizance must be taken of the fact that access to clean water and sanitation is a Fundamental Human Right.
“It is our collective responsibility to ensure that this right is protected and promoted for the benefit of our people.
“In reviewing the 2024 approved estimates, we noted that the Ministry and the Agencies in their effort to improve water supply and sanitation services across the state made significant performance in some of their subheads in the year under review”, he said.
Shehu-Tijani said that the committee however, identified some gaps and under-performance in some of the subheads and therefore called for meaningful suggestions that would address the challenges.
