By Musa Tanimu Nasidi
Residents of Lokoja, the Kogi State capital and environs have been hit by acute water scarcity.
The city has been without running water for about two months forcing people to depend on mai Ruwa or cart-pushing water vendors who now make brisk business from the situation.
TheAnalystNG gathered that the shortage of water is caused partly because of inadequate maintenance at the major water supply plant in the city, the Greater Lokoja Water Works.
Madam Ronke Adebayo,a resident of one of the government quarters in the city lamented that the lack of water has caused her and many residents untold hardship.
“We don’t know what is happening. For more than one year the water supply have been unstable. But now it has stopped running completely since the beginning of this year.
Government should pity us and fix the problem. Water is not supposed to be a problem in a place like Lokoja with Rivers Niger and Benue.” She lamented
Indeed, residents who cannot afford the services of the water vendors fetch water directly from either of the two Rivers or any of their tributaries.
TheAnalystNG reports that Kogi State Commissioner for Water Resources, Abdulmumuni Danga, in February this year,appealed to residents of Lokoja Metropolis experiencing acute shortage of water supply in their areas to be patient, assuring that residents of Lokoja would enjoy adequate water supply as soon as maintenance of Lokoja Greater water works is completed within the week.
Two month after the promised made by Danga the problems still persistent.
As at the time of filling this report, there has been no official statement on the water situation. Repeated efforts to reach the Commissioner for water resources,Abdulmumuni Danga were not successful.
