ADEOLU ADEYEMO in this piece looks into the rationale for the acquisition of 332 generating sets by the Osun State government, led by Senator Ademola Adeleke, to power boreholes for water supply in the state.
In Osun State, the government, under different administrations, has embarked on a number of water supply projects to better the lives of its citizens. However, are things going on as expected? Are people in the state now enjoying water supply in their different locations?
The Ipetu-Ijesha water plant, according to findings, was said to be functioning properly from about 2016 till 2017 before it was confronted with a number of challenges ranging from erratic power supply, non-availability of diesel and other problems.
Years ago, the government constructed a dam on the Sekunrebete stream in Ife-Odan town that serves as a source of water for the inhabitants of the area and its environs. The dam is said to have suffered from theft of generating set and damaged pipes. If these are attended to, residents say, the dam would sufficiently serve the people of the community and its environs.
A source in the town who identified himself as Adesoye Adebimtan said the water plant erected in 2017 in the community was yet to supply a drop of water since it was completed. He blamed the contractor for not doing the job properly.
A similar situation is said to have occurred in Ila- Orangun in the same year, when the contractor concerned was said to have done a shoddy job. The water plant project was said to have been completed, inaugurated and handed over to the government through its water corporation.
In his reaction to the above, the corporation’s Deputy General Manager, Operations and Production, Ademola Odejide, said, “Three projects were handed over to the corporation in February 2017. But after a careful study, those located at Ila-Orangun and Ife-Odan were returned to the agency for correction of all identified defects.”
According to him, “Immediately we received the projects, we wrote our observations and recommendations, but our memo did not get to the governor on time because he was not around.
“But as soon as we received the go-ahead, only the Ipetu-Ijesha project got our approval. So, we sent back all the documents handed over to us for Ila-Orangun and Ife-Odan projects with the instruction that they should go and correct all the defects. We recommended a better industrial borehole for Ila-Orangun and raw water supply at Ife-Odan because the boreholes sunk could hardly yield 20 per cent.”
He added that “the Ila-Orangun scheme was later provided with the required industrial borehole, but the Ife-Odan project is now being linked to the dam but has not been completed.”
However, in a bid to bring succour to the people of the state through sustainable water supply, the state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, directed the phased rehabilitation of selected water works and water pipeline networks across the state.
Speaking on the projects, the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said, “This new directive is coming as the sinking of 332 boreholes under direct labour and shoestring budget reached 85 percent. As of today, only about four local government areas remain to round off their implementation in the state.
“Governor Adeleke, acting on a committee report relating to the worsening state of infrastructure within the water sector, approved the immediate upgrade of pipeline networks at both Ede and Osogbo water works, alongside the repairs and recharging of water filter media at Iwo and Eko-ende water works.
“The water scheme at Esaoke is also under rehabilitation for the supply of potable water, while the governor is following up with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources for the completion of the Ile Ife water project.
“The state government is also interfacing with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to resolve the delay created by the mismanagement of the Ilesa Water Project, with particular reference to the contractor and the project managers.”
The Osun State government is already rehabilitating water works in major towns of the state, while the 332 boreholes are emergency intervention projects to address the acute water shortage in the state.
Olawale stressed that rehabilitation of water works at Ede, Iwo, Osogbo, Eko-ende and others were already ongoing.
He said, “Governor Adeleke adopted two approaches, namely the short-term interventions, which are the boreholes and the medium, and the long-term interventions, which include the rehabilitation of water works. Both are ongoing simultaneously.
“Across the 332 political wards in Osun, our people are accessing water supplies that, according to global standards, are expected to serve two million people.”
Also, in his own remark, a PDP chieftain in the state and close ally to the governor, Dr Bashiru Tokunbo Sallami, said the administration has a holistic programme to address the challenges facing the water sector in the state.
“The administration adopted a mix of solutions which include sinking of boreholes in all the wards across the state,” he explained, even as he acknowledged that the 332 boreholes are not sufficient to cater for the citizen’s water needs.
“It was the realisation of this project from the beginning that the governor approved the phased rehabilitation of the state water pipeline networks. The goal is to systematically address the many technical hitches facing water supply in the state,” Salami noted.
“Details from the state water corporation showed that the agency mostly operates on old asbestos cement (AC) pipes laid several decades ago, which are in a terrible state of functionality. The upgrade that is ongoing for Ede and Osogbo water works will replace the old run-down pipes with HDPE pipes — the modern durable material used in the sector.”
At the official distribution of power-generating sets held at the Secretariat, Osogbo, Director of Water Sanitation and Environment, Mr Olaoye Abayomi, hinted that the governor has distributed 332 power-generating sets to power the 332 recently-completed boreholes across the 332 political wards in the state.
According to him, “The powering of the borehole with generating sets marks the last stage of the mass water supply programme which saw the unprecedented completion of 332 boreholes within the governor’s 100 days in office.
“The governor, who had also launched a statewide rehabilitation of water works across the major towns, cited the borehole as an emergency intervention to address the problem of water shortage in the state.
“By World Health Organisation standard, a borehole is to serve 3,500 people, which means Mr Governor has provided water for about two million people in the state.”
Abayomi explained that powering the boreholes with generators is cost-effective and sustainable, and local management of the borehole will ensure its durability and efficiency.
He, however, added that Governor Adeleke is passionate and concerned about the availability of water in all nooks and crannies of the state. The director affirmed that the borehole project has not and cannot fail based on professionalism in the design and execution.
He called on the local management committee to be alive to its responsibilities, adding that each community must take ownership of the borehole project
In his reaction, a resident of Osogbo who identified himself as Obayomi Adekunle, told Nigerian Tribune that the step was a welcome one and that he was happy about it. However, he charged the state administration not to relent in finding ways to improve people’s welfare.
Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said Governor Adeleke was running a ‘wasteful’ administration.
The party, in a statement by its spokesperson, Chief Kola Olabisi, said, “Governor Adeleke should be ready to account for any money he might have spent without due process.”
Olabisi stated that: “The breakdown of the public funds that Adeleke needs to account for in the last 100 days of his administration goes thus: N67.44 billion revenue to the state; N22.8 billion revenue to the local governments.
“The total amount of the revenue excluding the February 2023 allocation that is hanging on the neck of Adeleke is N90.24 billion.
He alleged that “Adeleke within the period under the spotlight awarded the dubious borehole water contract to be sunk in each of all the 332 wards across the state at a cost of N14 million each.
“The fact check on the Adeleke borehole contract revealed that it was a scam meant to fleece the state as the borehole contract was given out for N2 million each while the remaining N12 million on each of the boreholes was pocketed by Adeleke.”
