Scarcity of potable water hits Makurdi

News Express |21st Aug 2016 | 2,654

Over 4,000 residents of the Makurdi metropolis in Benue State, lacking potable water are seeking government’s intervention.

Some of the residents in the state’s capital city, who spoke with Channels Television, said the last time they had access to potable water was 10 years ago.

But the State government said it had secured additional $2.5 million World Bank grant to address this challenge.

The administration of the former Governor of the state, Gabriel Suswam, has spent over five billion Naira between 2007 and 2015, but unable to deliver water to many homes.

In the midst of the challenge, resident’s only source of water is said to be contaminated.

Residents complained that butchers at the Wurukum abattoir dispose animal waste right into the river, a situation that environmentalist described as unhealthy for a major water source.

Meanwhile, the Benue State Water Board said they were not unaware of the unhealthy activities from the upstream. The board said it had always ensured strict compliance to water treatment due to contamination issues.

The water board authority promised the residents that all the challenges would soon be a thing of the past.

To help meet the water needs, the administration of Governor Samuel Ortom has taken steps in the replacement of some of the rusted and busted pipes laid in 1978. (Channels TV)

•Photo shows Governor Ortom.