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New Layout Community of Lokoja makes commitment to own, protect water facility in the area
… As Water Resources Commissioner Organises stakeholders engagement. 
Residents of Angwan Tiv and other communities in and around New layout area of Lokoja LGA, have collectively made a commitment to work towards owning and ensuring the protection of Water facilities located in the area.
This is as the Commissioner of Water Resources, Engr. Yahaya MD Farouk disclosed that henceforth the Ministry of Water Resources will get the buy in of Communities before it begins to work in such communities.
The Commissioner said anywhere in the State that has water facility, the Ministry will through their traditional rulers, Youths and Water users get their commitment to own the facility, pointing out that it will no longer be business as usual.
The Commissioner said the State Government going forward must get the commitment of Communities that it will safe guard and taking ownership of water facilities.
” We will henceforth extract from the Traditional Rulers, Youths and Water users of that Community, who will together come to an agreement that they will protect the water facility”.
The commitment of the Angwan Tiv and other Communities in Lokoja was the outcome of a stakeholders engagement organised by the Commissioner for Water Resources, Engr. Yahaya MD Farouk, which according to the Commissioner was at the instance of Gov. Usman Ahmed Ododo.
The commitment saw to the establishment of a tripartite committee geared towards protecting and owning water facilities as well as check wastage as observed by Government.
The Angwan Tiv and New layout Community Committee is made up of the Water users, Plumbers Association, the Water Board and the New Layout Community, would oversee and solve the noticed problems witnessed after the painstaking efforts by the State Government to treat and supply water to the Metropolis.
Engr. Farouk expressed appreciation with the collective outcome of the meeting by the stakeholders, pointing out that arising from the meeting, the stakeholders all agreed that henceforth the committee will work as a team in ensuring that between now and Tuesday, all the observed leakages, broken pipes and other challenges as observed leading to wasteage of water are rectified before the Wednesday expected date for the release and supply of Water again to the metropolis.
The Commissioner disclosed that the engagement with the Angwan Tiv and New Layout Community is just the beginning of what is expected in the coming days. He assured that such engagement will be done across the State for Communities to imbibe the spirit of ownership.
The Commissioner recalled how efforts to release and supply water to the Lokoja Metropolis was stalled for the second time last week Thursday owing to leakeages and breakages from pipes that ordinarily should have been fixed by the owners, residents of Angwan Tiv and New Layout community.
” We had above 1.5m litres of water in the tank B that was expected to supply water to Ward A, B and C area of Lokoja. The capacity of the tank is 3m litres. A Month ago we did release water along this line. We noticed a lot of broken pipes because they were very old”.
“It took us two days to fix this leakages so that pressure can be built up for us to continue our trouble shooting so that the water can gather more pressure and reach the main town proper”.
“Our intention for the release last Thursday was that after the release it will be a continuous release up till next year so that by 31st of December, we will know that the issue of water supply in major parts of Lokoja is over”.
“Unfortunately last Thursday, two events happened simultaneously. Since the reservoir was by far the average daily capacity of the old water works. As we are releasing the water, we have to be treating at the same time”.
“When we got to this area, from upper new layout to Angwan Tiv, we discovered that most of the pipes we have rectified at the last count were further removed and vandalized and people were fetching water from the broken pipes. In some cases, with the permission of the house owners when we entered their compound, we noticed that the tap heads in some houses have been removed, leading to wasteage of water”.
” Of the over 1.5m litres of water we were talking about that was released that very day, it was sad and unfortunate that less than 500,000 litres were actually used by the intended beneficiaries”.
“Unfortunately, even the main supply pipe, which is the rising pipe going to the reservoir, we also noticed had pulled out, a damaged we promptly fixed”.
“This attitude was also seen by His Excellency, the Governor, who was in the picture of all what we are doing, thus, prompting this meeting”.
“This engagement was actually intended to start next year, after the new water law, aimed at revolutionizing the entire water sector of the State would have been passed into law. We had planned vigorous sensitization and engagements like this before the regulatory aspect would have come into place”.
“His Excellency, has to direct that we quickly start this engagement, particularly, because it is also my Community, I had to swing into action to call for a stakeholder engagement”.
The Commissioner maintained that the present administration is committed to solving finally and permanently the water situation in the State, but said this can only be achieved, working collectively with the people.
He called for ownership of water facilities across the State to serve as an encouragement to the State Government to enable it to continue to do more for the people.
While pointing out that it is the people’s right to get clean and portable water, added that a seamless process by the Ministry is underway to ease the process of registration for residents to be connected to waterline.
He called on the residents to cooperate with the relevant authorities by ensuring that they fix broken water pipes, assured that when that is done, the problem of water to New layout and Angwan Tiv Community will be a thing of the past.
Engr. Farouk explained that the State Government is spending huge resources in the procurement of chemicals as well as in the revitalization of water infrastructure across the State, expressed worries that resources will be wasted without the cooperation of the end users to play their roles.
The Commissioner described Gov. Ododo as a result oriented promise keeper, said his efforts to provide portable water to the people of the State was a fulfillment of his campaign promise made to the people.
While the Commissioner explained that the revitalization of the Old Lokoja Water Works is already at about 95% completion, mentioned that the challenges noticed is owing to the none usage of the pipes and lack of supply of water for about 3 years.
Engr. Farouk explained that staff of the Water board are working round the clock towards restoring Water to the metropolis, urged residents to desist from connecting pumping machines directly to water lines, described it as illegal.
In his remarks, Member, Representing Lokoja 1 State Constituency and Chairman Assembly Committee on Water, Hon. Bin-Ebaiya Tijjani, reiterated Gov. Ododo’s resolve to solving the water problem in the State.
Speaking, Alhaji Alhassan Makoji Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, lauded the efforts of the Commissioner, solicited the support and cooperation of Water users to enable government serve them with portable water.
Other speakers at the engagement, Hon. Usman Mohammed Nda, SSA on Water expressed confidence that with the support of the people, the present administration will overcome the challenge facing the people in accessing portable water.
In their separate remarks, Lawal Momoh Jimoh, General Manager, Kogi State Water Board, A Community Leader,
Alhaji Mobo Kassim, called for collaborative efforts between the State Government and the water users, commended the State Government for the political it has shown to overcome the challenge faced by the people in the water sector.
Similarly, the Water Users Association Chairman, Comr. Ismaila Anatako Obanyi, the Agwan Tiv Community head, Nasiru Salihu Omeiza,
Chris Musa Bawa and
Alagba Sunday, Akinyemi, Chairman, New layout and Nasiru Salihu Omeiza, Chairman, Association of Plumbers, lauded the initiative, called for the need to engage professional plumbers amongst other suggestions that they made in ensuring ownership and protection of water facilities in the community.
