By joshua Isanlu Water Asset, Not Scrap: Govt. Must Not Abandon Our People, Dispose Of Our Future – High Chief Olatunde David Dare
… Mayegun of Isanlu Land Demands Immediate Suspension of Evacuation of Isanlu Water Facilities, Threatens Legal Action
The Mayegun of Isanlu Land and the Akogun of Itakete-Ide, High Chief Olatunde David Dare, has strongly condemned the decision by the Kogi State Ministry of Water Resources to authorize the evacuation of facilities belonging to the Isanlu Water Project under the guise of “verified scrap metals and decommissioned assets.”
In a strongly worded statement issued on Thursday, High Chief Dare described the move as unacceptable, insensitive, and an assault on the collective interest and heritage of the people of Isanlu.
According to a release letter dated 21st September 2026, signed by the Permanent Secretary, Kogi State Ministry of Water Resources, Alhassan Omakoji, to the Chairman of Yagba East Local Government Area, approval was given for the release of 16 items from the Isanlu Zone to one Gabdire International Nigeria Ltd. for evacuation, claiming that due diligence was conducted and due process followed.
High Chief Dare, however, punctured the claims, demanding full transparency and accountability.
“I am not speaking on this matter merely as an indigene of Isanlu. I speak as High Chief Olatunde David Dare, the Mayegun of Isanlu Land and the Akogun of Itakete-Ide and I consider it both a duty and a responsibility to speak whenever the collective interest, heritage and assets of our people are threatened. This is therefore not simply a personal objection; it is a principled demand that government respect the people of Isanlu and protect an asset that was established for their benefit.
The Isanlu water project was constructed in 1983 during the administration of Alhaji Adamu Attah specifically to serve the Isanlu community. It was built with public resources and for a clear public purpose. For almost two decades, our people have endured the absence of reliable water and electricity, yet instead of seeing a determined and transparent effort to restore this critical infrastructure, we are now confronted with an attempt to remove what remains of it. We find this deeply unacceptable and condemn it in the strongest possible terms.
Let us be clear: the fact that government has failed to maintain or revive an infrastructure does not give government the moral or public-interest justification to simply dispose of it. If the system is no longer functioning, then the responsibility of government is to explain why, assess what can be salvaged and develop a pathway for rehabilitation. It is not to simply declare the remnants ‘scrap’ and move them away from the community they were built to serve. Government cannot abandon a public asset, allow it to deteriorate through years of neglect and then use the consequences of that neglect as the justification for getting rid of the asset.
We demand to know who authorised the classification of the Isanlu water facilities as scrap, what technical assessment was conducted, when the assets were formally decommissioned, what happened to previous efforts or appropriations for rehabilitation and why disposal is now being prioritised over restoration.
If, as we have heard, these assets are being prepared for sale or be sold, then government must also show the people of Isanlu the complete legal and administrative process. Where is the valuation? Where is the technical report establishing that the facilities are beyond rehabilitation? What authority approved their disposal? What method of disposal was adopted? What public notice was issued? Who was authorised to conduct the process? What criteria were used to determine the value of the assets and where will the proceeds of any sale go? If every required process has been followed, government should have no difficulty presenting the documents.
We reject the idea that because one government cannot make the water project work, the project must therefore disappear. Government administrations are temporary, but public assets and communities are permanent. If the present administration cannot rehabilitate the facility, then leave it intact. If it cannot fund the work, let another administration do it. Do not turn governmental inability into the permanent destruction of a community asset.
The people of Isanlu have suffered enough. We have endured years without adequate public water and prolonged electricity challenges, while watching infrastructure deteriorate. The least government can do is not compound that suffering by taking away infrastructure that could form part of the solution. If government cannot alleviate our suffering, it should not deepen it.
I therefore call for the immediate suspension of any evacuation, removal, sale or disposal of the Isanlu water infrastructure pending a transparent review, full disclosure of the relevant documentation and proper engagement with the Isanlu community. If government believes these assets are genuinely beyond rehabilitation, let it publish the technical evidence and explain its position publicly.
I also wish to put prospective buyers on clear notice that the Isanlu community will closely scrutinise any purported transaction involving these assets. Any buyer should be fully aware that where there are questions regarding the legality, transparency or due process of any proposed disposal, we will pursue every lawful administrative, regulatory and judicial avenue available to protect the interests and assets of Isanlu. If this decision is not reversed, we will certainly take legal action through the appropriate channels. This is not a threat outside the law; it is a declaration that we will use every legitimate means available to us to defend what belongs to our community.
At the same time, I call on our youths and all our people in Isanlu to remain peaceful and law-abiding. Our legitimate grievance must be pursued with dignity, restraint and respect for the law. We must not allow frustration to be exploited in a manner that undermines the very cause we are defending. Our strength is in our unity, our facts, our lawful actions and our determination to protect the community’s interest.
What we will not accept is a situation where our community is denied water for years and then told that the remains of the system built to provide that water are now scrap. If you cannot fix our water, leave the infrastructure for us. If you cannot revive it, preserve it for the future. If you cannot make it work today, do not destroy the possibility that another government will make it work tomorrow. Government is temporary. Isanlu is permanent. No administration should be permitted to close the door on the future simply because it has been unable or unwilling to solve the problem in the present.
Our water is not scrap. Our assets are not scrap. Our heritage is not scrap. Our future is certainly not scrap. If government cannot fix it, leave it for us. If government cannot revive it, preserve it for those who will. Leave our assets for the people of Isanlu.”