Kogi explains scarcity of water in Lokoja

The Kogi State Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr. Salami Ozigi, has explained that the scarcity of water in Lokoja is due to the high cost of maintaining the water works.

He said the N13billion water project, constructed in 2009 by the administration of former Governor Ibrahim Idris, has been costing the state N100 million in monthly maintenance.

The commissioner said in an interview that the state governor, Yahaya Bello has found the amount to be unviable and outrageous.

He said: “We are thinking of reorganising the agreement or disengaging completely, because there is no money to continue the high cost. Government can only enter into a venture that is reasonable.”

Ozigi added that it was unpatriotic and unsustainable for government to be spending such huge amount on water supply to the state capital alone.

The commissioner said the ministry would soon introduce metering for the consumption of water in the state to meet up with the water needs of the people.

He said the state government, at the last state Executive Council (SEC), approved N156 million for the completion of 22 abandoned water projects across the three senatorial zones of the state.

The commissioner said the fund would be used to mobilise the contractors engaged by the previous administration back to sites.