By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The Executive Chairman, Oyo State Water Corporation, Hon. Elias Adeojo has declared that the state government is committed towards ensuring access to safe drinking water and mitigate the effects of climate change.
Hon Adeojo said this during a meeting with some officials of a bank at the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (IUFMP), Ikolaba, Ibadan.
The chairman pointed out that Oyo State Government is investing strategically in building safe drinking water systems by not only increasing funding, but also putting in capacities to plan, coordinate, and regulate service provision.
According to him, “provision of potable water is capital intensive but not profit oriented as the Corporation cannot charge the consumers for production cost”, saying, “the Oyo State Government has invested heavily on water facilities across the State but still require external support like grants from the World Bank”.
The chairman stressed that power being a major factor that drives the corporation’s facilities has been at lower ebbs and needs to be alternated with hydropower.
Emphasizing that a new technology known as hydrogen power which can also be sold for the sustainability of the Corporation will be introduced, Hon Adeojo said the new policy will aid the Corporation especially as the delisting of power generation from the exclusive list of the Federal Government is in the pipeline
The Task Team leader for IUFMP World Bank office, Malawi, Mr. Francis Nkoka, and Mr. Tochi Sinoda, World Bank Office, Washington DC, promised to assess the requests of the state Government on potable water but added that the issue of tackling flood in the State is germane to the residents of the State.
They then called on the Management of the Water Corporation to establish synergy with the State Ministry of Environment and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to make a success the fight against the scourge of flood in the state.
