Potable Water Scarcity Hits Lokoja

The people of Lokoja, Kogi State capital, are seriously facing potable water scarcity in the area.

Those who spoke with Tribune Online appealed to Kogi State Governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello to come to their rescue and find a lasting solution to the problem.

In Gadumo, a suburb of the state capital, some residents described the scarcity of water in the area as a development that is fast becoming a recurring decimal with social, health and economic implications.

It could be recalled that the area was hit by the scarcity of such an essential commodity about two weeks ago.

A reliable source at the water board, who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, described the problem as going from bad to worse, citing finance as one of the major factors responsible for the scarcity.

Others who also spoke with our correspondent on the issue called on the state government to take a second look at its recent freezing of state government accounts.

This, they argued, became necessary with a view to the government removing some strategic government agencies that have a direct bearing on the lives of the public from such policies to enable them to have funds to operate, pending when the policy would be lifted.

They also called on the state government to create a temporary or alternative funding arrangement for such agencies to meet their aims and objectives for the benefit of the people.

However, the General Manager, Kogi State Water Board, Engr. Mohammed Sagir, in a statement issued, attributed the scarcity to a voltage drop in the power supply and promised that efforts were on to solve the problem.

Two days after Sagir’s promise, the water returned, but this was short-lived as the state capital again snowballed into a fresh scarcity of drinkable water