Kogi state government has assured residents of Lokoja and environs of regular supply of portable water as soon as the ongoing turnaround maintenance on the Greater Lokoja Water Works is completed.
Addressing a press conference in Lokoja on Friday, the State Commissioner for Water and Natural Resources, Engr. Yahaya M.D. Farouk, said work is ongoing at the old water works around Kpata area of Lokoja as well.
He attributed the malfunctioning of the Greater Lokoja Water Works to the 2022 flood disaster which he said completely submerged the entire facility and electronic equipment installed for eight weeks.
The Commissioner said the Greater Lokoja Water Works which has the capacity to supply 10 million litres of treated water per day was not completed as at the 2010 when it was inaugurated by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
However, Yahaya explained that the present administration under Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo has decided to complete the water project by expanding its supply capacity to 15 million litres per day and reticulate the water works to cover other parts of Lokoja.
He added that all obsolete equipment at the Old Lokoja Water Works around Kpata has either been replaced or reactivated.
He also said the state has taken delivery of new pumps of higher diameter to replace the old under ground pipes across the native areas of Lokoja, GRA , Adankolo and up to Phase 2 areas.
Yahaya explained that the turnaround maintenance of the old water works which is also ongoing simultaneously with Greater Lokoja Water Works will be completed by July ending.
He said the old water works will be fitted with fetching points for water tankers and members of the public to fetch water at no cost.
According to him, this is to ensure that residents continue to get water supply while the turnaround maintenance of the two water works are going on simultaneously.
While answering a question on how the state government is sourcing for funds for the turn around maintenance of the two water works, Faruk said the amount runs into billions of Naira.
He, however, said that the state government has approached the Federal Government for assistance through the Federal Ministry of Water and Natural Resources.
According to him, other funding options being pursued by the state government are Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement or state government financing which will involve spreading the payment over a period of time in such a way that it will not become a financial crisis for the government now or in future.
He said the Ministry has also embarked on the evaluation of old water works in other parts of the state.
He said the purpose was to identify the water plants for rehabilitation and expansion in line with government’s plan to provide portable water for residents in rural areas of the state.
Farouk appealed to Lokoja residents to bear with the state government, saying the current water scarcity they are experiencing will be a thing of the past as from July ending.
