By Wole Adedeji, Ilorin
A pressure group in Ilorin, Kwara State, the Kwara Gentleman’s Club, KGC, has expressed concerns over not less than N6 billion allegedly spent by former governors, Bukola Saraki and Abdulfatah Ahmed, on Ilorin water reticulations while in office.
The two former governors were said to have claimed that the amount was expended on the water reticulations to provide potable water for all households in the state capital.
The duo, have of late, been grossly accused by the incumbent state government to have fraudulently spent over N5 billion and other expenses that could not be accounted for on the popular Shonga Farms Project, describing it as a means by them to cause capital fleece of the state’s common patrimony.
Kwara State governments under Saraki and Ahmed were reported, during their time, to have allegedly spent the amount to carry out among others, maintenance works on damaged pipelines and construction of new water channels that would connect households in the city centers to the mains of the Kwara State Waterworks, under a water reticulation scheme.
However, four years after the project was initiated, residents of the city, as well as those in the hinterland, who were said to have been promised provision of potable water, still wander round the city in search of water, particularly, during dry seasons, when their private wells run dry.
Thus, they could neither access the clean water running from the taps promised them at the time when such huge amount was spent, nor get any meaningful explanations from the authorities untill recently, when a new regime came on board.
But now, considerable water points in the city now have treated water and the new governor; AbduRahman AbdulRazaq, has been beating his chest for the feat.
Not only that, the governor is credited to have embarked on the reactivations of the existing water projects across the state, which were reported to have long collapsed.
Meanwhile, eyebrows are being raised among citizens, political activists and some pressure groups, who are calling for visits by relevant government anti-graft agencies to look into claims of the government of the previous governors that huge fortunes were spent on projects like channelisation or reticulation of water, construction of a diamond underpass at Geri Alimi roundabout and several other projects.
Ahead of 2019, supply of clean water for domestic and industrial use to households and industrial layouts in the state capital had stopped, with residents resorting to buying water from cart pushers, wheelbarrow pushers and water tanks at exorbitant prices.
It was alleged at the time that former Governor Ahmed, a favoured godson of Dr. Bukola Saraki, the then Senate President, accessed some funds as campaigns for the 2019 general elections thickened, in addition to funds he allegedly acessed after taking over from his boss.
The funds were said to be applied for as loans for water projects and others.
The KGC, during the week appealled to the current state administration not to allow the N6 billion in particular, to go down the drains, noting that Governor AbdulRazaq’s administration had shown enough commitment to ensuring that all households in the state capital and the hinterland have access to clean water.
