Abia Moves to Revamp  Moribund Water Schemes, Targets 640 Homes for Supply

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

No fewer than 640 homes in Abia State would be supplied with water following the ongoing moves by the state government to rehabilitate two moribund water schemes in Ariaria and Ubakala.

The cheering news was made known by the state Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities, Ikechukwu Monday, during a press briefing on the outcome of this week’s State Executive Council meeting.

He said that the water projects were being “completely financed” by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), adding that each of the water schemes would supply 320 homes.

According to him, works on the water schemes would commence in earnest next month as the development partner is currently engaged in the procurement process and hiring contractors that would execute the project.

Monday stated that Abia State would only play a supervisory role as USAID is fully in charge of financing and execution of the water projects.

While residents of the areas covered by the water schemes are looking forward to public water supply to commence, the government said that the ‘light up Abia initiative’ was also gaining ground.

The state Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu, announced that the initiative has not only been progressing but “gone a notch higher.”

He said that over 2,500 solar powered light panels have so far been installed across the state, mostly in Umuahia, Aba, Ohafia and other isolated institutions like the Abia State University, Uturu.

The commissioner said: “Also, the rural electrification initiative of the state government is set to be executed in the three senatorial zones of the state.”

Kanu said that the government would soon resuscitate the rural electrification project in selected rural communities across the state with distribution of 50 transformers.

On the appropriation of lands belonging to public schools, the information commissioner said that the encroachers would soon be made to relinquish the lands in their possession.

Therefore, Kanu stated that the  government has constituted a special committee to recover all public schools space in the state, adding that about 180 schools are known to have lost lands to public officials.

He specifically alleged that officials and cronies of the immediate-past administration had taken over the lands belonging to the identified schools hence the committee has the task of recovering the lands.

The school lands recovery committee is headed by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Caleb Ajagba, with the  Commissioner for Education, Prof. Uche Eme Uche, as Secretary. Other members include Commissioners for Justice, Lands and Housing, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, General Manager of Umuhia Capital Development Authority (UCDA), GM Greater Aba Development Authority (GADA) as well as the Chief Security Officer to the Governor.

The information commissioner warned against encroachment on school lands, saying that “government will not tolerate the greed and mindless impunity exhibited by a privileged few who have surreptitiously taken over the lands.”

He also expressed government’s displeasure at the misuse of schools handed back to different organisations, stating that such schools must be used exclusively for educational purposes.

The commissioner said: “The state government insists that such schools must be used exclusively for educational activities. The government advises such organisations, who find it difficult to run those schools to return them to the government.”