The Commissioner for Water Resources and Environment in Benue State, Mr. John Ngbede, in this interview with SOLOMON AYADO,? speaks on the alleged politicisation of water distribution in the state, the public outcry against?? flooding in parts of the state, and the efforts made by the state governor, Gabriel Suswam-led administration to resolve these challenges.
There are grave allegations that the high level of flooding witnessed in the state, which destroyed lives and property, is due to your ministry’s neglect to construct water drainages and culverts, especially in market areas. What is your reaction?
The allegation that the Ministry of Water Resources and Environment has neglected the construction of water drainages and culvert, especially in the Wurukum market, which is causing flooding in the state is not true. No contract has been awarded to that effect. The problem is caused by traders in the market and some persons who heap refuse in the water channels, blocking it and making water unable to flow properly. And if you look at the Wurukum Market, there is a big culvert constructed there but traders in the market prefer to dump refuse into the gutters, rather than using the refuse containers. Secondly, there is a need to relocate the market which is always flooded, and it will be relocated so as to solve a lot of problems.
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How soon is the market going to be relocated?
Well, that would be better directed to the Ministry of Commerce because I have already discussed that with them and efforts are already going on to that effect. There is a dire need for its relocation because it causes traffic jams at the Benue Links junction where the Living Faith Church is also located. And the sanitary condition of that area is very terrible. You can’t imagine that the market is sitting on a water log and it is a flooded plenary. How would you build a market on a flooded plenary? So these are some of the things that people are doing and they don’t know. If you go to Idye village, a lot of houses are built on the streets and waterways without site plans. They would not allow government to do a proper planning of the areas before they would go and build. That is why a lot of people are complaining of flooding of their houses and destruction of properties.
This year alone, government has awarded contract for the construction of over 25 drainages spread across Makurdi, Gboko and Otukpo towns of the state. This we are doing just to open up access roads, ensure free flow of water and to control erosion on the streets. Government is spending much on these projects because at the end of every month, the sum of N40million is released for the projects and this money has been used judiciously only for the purposes it was meant. As I talk to you now, I have documents to that effect and these are corporate agreements that are meant to be signed for the projects – the drainages that we are about to construct.
But the simple fact is that we have earlier warned people that there is going to be heavy downpour in Makurdi, Gboko and Otukpo, and we have already told people living in swampy areas to vacate such areas, but most of them cannot leave. Flooding is a general problem in the country. Lagos is affected; we hear of flooding in Ogun and, recently, when I was coming back from Abuja a few days ago, I witnessed the same problem and we were driving inside water in Abuja. That is why we talk about global warming. There is high depletion (of the ozone layer) and that is cause of climate change.
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What efforts have government made so far in ensuring timely and proper evacuation of refuse to prevent the blockage of water channels which leads to flooding?
On refuse evacuation, the Benue State Environmental and Sanitation Authority (BENSESA) has been trying its best, but in the markets, traders do not always dump refuse in the containers positioned in strategic points; they prefer to heap the refuse outside of them. We are trying to hold a meeting with market heads to sensitise them so that they can take the message back to their traders. But once they go to where there is a refuse container – where refuse is supposed to be dumped, instead of dumping directly into the refuse disposals, they would drop it outside, and that is the issue for which we are quarrelling with the traders. That problem is particularly found in the Wurukum Market, and that is why you have this water springing up into the streets and over flooding the markets.
Of course, what happens mostly at weekends. You know that BENSESA doesn’t work during weekends. And if you keep a refuse bucket, especially at High Level roundabout, it will be filled up within five minutes. And when it is weekend, certainly the staff of BENSESA would not be there to move them to designated dump? sites. Another problem we are appealing to state government to address is that of purchase of new refuse evacuation vehicles and waste bins so that we can meet the increasing challenges in Makurdi, the state capital. But my worry is that even if some people see the waste bins, they prefer to dump the refuse outside of it, and I think that is very bad.
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There are public complaints on the new reticulation of water and that supply is only done to residential areas of top government functionaries. Do you politicise water supply in the state?
If you talk about reticulation, it means the process of bringing new pipes on the ground for better water supply. We are not doing that now, but there is a present reticulation we have now and this is connected to all houses. Those living in Old GRA, Wadata, Ankpa Quarters, Abu King Shuluwa Road and New GRA can testify to the high level of water supply. But I want to say clearly that we do not politicise water supply, and water is not always channelled to areas of top government officials. The water that is reticulated is being sent to the pipes for everyone to use. We have also been able to constitute a public task force to monitor water supply. So the allegation that water was not being circulated to every nook and cranny of the state is not true and we are not supplying water to government officials alone.
But we are also asking that the present reticulation we have now cannot accommodate the pressure of water that comes from the new water works. The new water works is so powerful that we need a new reticulation all together, and there will have to be a new reticulation for the entire Makurdi town because that project is built to supply water to all parts of the state capital, Apir, Agan Tollgate, University of Agriculture, NAF Base among others. But now we cannot use that project because we have not awarded contract for the reticulation of the Greater Makurdi Waterworks due to the cost involved in it, and we are hoping that as soon as the financial position of the state improves, definitely we shall do something about that. We have really committed a lot of money into that project and the entire water sector in the state, but the governor is also thinking that we can also improve the current reticulation we are having. And that is why we are noticing that all these pipes burst every day. But we are making serious effort to see how we can remove the old pipes and replace them with new ones that would withstand the pressure and also stand the test of time.
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But a lot of people, especially the opposition, are not satisfied with the development strides of the Governor Suswam administration, particularly in the water sector. Do you share the same sentiment?
I do not subscribe to that. I am very happy and I can say it anywhere that this is the only administration that has ensured adequate supply of water to the people of Benue State. This has clearly manifested in the construction of three gigantic water works at Makurdi, Katsina-Ala and Otobi, and all of them are very functional. I want to put it on record that anybody who does not see the efforts the governor is making toward adequate water supply really needs a rethink. The government is still committed to permanently resolve the issue of water supply in the entire state, both in urban and rural areas before the year 2015. So I want say that the governor is trying hard with the water sector and all we need to do is to encourage him to do more. It is for the overall interest of the entire people of the state.
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