Billions of naira worth of water projects in Osun and Ogun states have failed to materialise or are in bad shape after being abandoned or poorly executed, according to investigation.
The projects were awarded between 2012 and 2016 for over N5 billion as part of capital projects in the South West. Some started as state government projects but were expanded by the federal government.
Most of the projects were awarded by the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority but years after, many of those projects have not been implemented. The few that have been executed were so poorly done that they are already falling apart just after a few years.
The Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority, Abeokuta, is one of the River Basin Authorities established in November 1987 to pursue the objectives of harnessing, developing, conserving available land and water resources in the river basin.
This was done to improve the standard of living and quality of lives of people living within the catchment area, through irrigation agronomy, livestock, fishery and forestry and supply of water for both human and animal consumption, through continuous cost reduction, efficient communication and better services.
Under this mandate, the river basin authority has powers to award water project contracts for the benefit of residents of the area. But while billions of naira have gone into enforcing that mandate, there is quite little to show.
In Olode community of Osun state, 63-year-old Funke Agboola, who sells roasted maize cannot afford to sleep beyond 4 am each day because she must walk for over two kilometres with her two kids, Aminat and Bashira, to fetch water for domestic use.
Also, waking up as early as 4.am has also become a routine for Rashida Biliaminu, who sells pap and Akara. She walks some three kilometres for water, or she must be ready to spend N500 daily to buy water from vendors.
At the local stream, it is a survival of the fittest among residents as whoever gets there first gets the cleanest water. They use the water for bathing, washing, drinking and other domestic chores.
“Since I got to this town seven years ago, I must wake up early and go to the stream to fetch water,” Mrs Agboola said. “I must wake my daughters up as early as possible so we can join our neighbours to go to the stream. That is where all of us in this village get water.”
But just 50 metres from her house is a huge reservoir of about 1000 litres capacity, built to supply water to the community.
Residents say the reservoir was erected some years ago when some people came to them, saying they wanted to provide potable water for the village from the federal government. Community members were happy.
However, their joy was short-lived as the spree of poor project execution and abandonment by the Ogun-Osun water basin authority was extended to Olode community, a town of over 50,000 inhabitants.
The women wished the multimillion-naira water project inaugurated several years ago would work, unfortunately, the water supply scheme functioned for only two months.
“It is over 10 years they erected that reservoir in Aye Oba. We have no good water to drink. We have also been living in darkness for even seven years”, Mrs Agboola said.
“The dam has dried up and the whole community has been suffering from the lack of water and electricity. A lot of politicians have come around, promising to help us, but it is all same story.
“Every day, for us to get water to drink and other purposes, we have to trek to far away Igbalo (about 5 kilometres from here). There is a river there.
“We can only rely on the government to help us with intervention like the water supply, but then, it just worked for two months, in the last six years.
“Whenever there is no water, we usually pay. “We also buy water from Hausa men who sell a 25-litre keg of water for N100. “So, if you need water that will last you or a whole month, you will spend an average of N10, 000 monthly on water”, she said.
Millions of naira spent with no result
Built with N192 million, the Olode water supply scheme was supposed to serve the community and adjoining villages; however, it did not function beyond two months after it was commissioned.
The contract, handled by the Ogun/ Osun River Basin Development Authority, was for the improvement of Olode water supply scheme in Ife South LGA, Osun state and was awarded to a company in 2009 for N200 million.
According to the 2016 audit report, documents revealed that the contract was 95 per cent completed after a total of N192 million was certified paid to the contractor.
The audit report revealed that the concrete work done was damaged and the river bank was eroded beyond its normal level, and another contract was awarded at N40 million in September 2014.
As a result of the damage, water could not build up to the level where the intake structure could extract water.
The auditor general report said another N40 million was, in 2014 awarded to the project, to correct the damaged river bank with two months completion period.
A big reservoir, which was supposed to house water pumped from the water dam, is dried up and the office where the machines have been deserted.
The site has been turned to a mechanic workshop.
About four pumps, which have never served the functions for which they were erected, stood at different locations as symbols of hope of potable water, for the villagers.
An official of the Osun State Water Corporation who does not want to be named for fear of victimisation, expressed disappointment in the government on the way the project was handled.
“This project has been on for a long time here in Olode. We once enjoyed it for few months. We, the water supply workers, are not happy.
“Initially, it was a project conceived by the government of Osun State. It was commissioned in 2004. The expansion work done by the federal government is more like a total waste of money. If you go to the machine room, you will see a lot of machines, wasting away. I have personally approached my boss to proffer solutions, but they would not listen.”
Sourced from Premium Times
Ikenna Okonkwo
5:37 PM (53 minutes ago)
to me
How executive/judicial face-off cripples governance in Kogi
Again, Kogi state is in the news for the wrong reason as the judiciary appears to be at loggerheads with the executive over the latter’s decision not to recognise the financial autonomy of the judiciary. Reports SALIHU OYIBO.
It was expected that after the screening that resulted in the removal of ghosts workers, unintended beneficiaries, certificate forgers among other unpardonable offences discovered in the payroll of Kogi state workforce, keen watchers expected that the wage bill will be depleted by, at least, 40 percent going by the discovery of ghost workers whose names were removed from the payroll. But to the surprise of many, the monthly wage bill shoot up from the N2.6 billion it inherited to over N3.2 billion.
Worried by this ugly situation, Governor Yahaya Bello instituted what he called Pay Parade otherwise known as Table Payment in the month of November 2018 to check the mysterious rise.
The governor, thereafter, instructed all civil servants to participate in the exercise including the judiciary that has been excluded from any forms of screening organised by the previous administrations as a result of financial autonomy enjoyed by that arm of government.
Cause of conflict
The face off between the two arms of government worsened recently when the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Folashade Arike Ayoade, wrote a petition to the state House of Assembly against the judiciary alleging impasse between the executive and judiciary with an appeal to the legislature to investigate.
It is on record that she is on currently standing trial before High Court 1 over an alleged issue that bothers infringement on freedom of information.
State assembly tried to intervene
Expectedly, the state assembly upon the receipt of the petition, set up an ad-hoc committee to look into the looming impasse between the judiciary and the executive arms of government with a view to providing guidance and way forward.
However, the ad-hoc committee while kick starting the task given to them asked the Chief Judge Justice, Nasiru Ajanah and the Chief Registrar, Barr Yahaya Ademu, to step aside pending their investigation.
Apparently, the two officers perceived the plan as an attempt to remove them from office, therefore, they approached a Koton-Karfe Division of the High Court of Kogi state to restrained the executive and legislature from taking steps that would hinder the discharge of their duties, being the two arrow heads of the judiciary in the state.
In the ex-parte application filed at the court by Yemi Muhammed, counsel to the two applicants, they sought an interlocutory injunction restraining the move.
In his ruling, Hon. Justice Alaba Ajileye said, “After considering the application and reflecting on the attached documents and the submission by the counsel to the Chief Judge, I am convinced on the strength of the facts deposed to in the affidavit in support of the motion that an urgent intervention of this court is required to maintain the status quo between the parties. Accordingly, I grant the application as prayed.”
While also granting the request for accelerated hearing of the motion, the court adjourned to 18th December 2018 and directed that the order be served on all the defendants.
Surprisingly, When the case came up on the stipulated date, counsel to the defendants, Mr Rotimi Oguneso, (SAN) announced his personal conviction that the nature of the matter was such that ought to be resolved out of court and as such applied for an adjournment to allow him explore the possibility of settlement out of court.
Subsequently, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) who led four other senior lawyers for the plaintiff, did not oppose the application, but applied for extension of time to avoid embarrassment to the parties.
The presiding judge, Justice Omolaye-Ajileye in his ruling again noted that it was part of the duties of a court to encourage amicable settlement of matters out of court and commended the initiative of Oguneso in seeking to get the matter resolved out of court.
He, however, held that the fears expressed by Chief Awomolo over the need to preserve the merit of the matter was well-founded.
According to him, “It was expedient that the lifespan of my earlier orders be extended in the interest of justice and in order to prevent occurrence of any irreparable mischief.
“I ordered that my earlier orders remain in force pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice of 12th December, 2018 and I have restrained the defendants from taking any step, under any guise that will have the effect of frustrating the case. I also adjourned the case to the 4th February, 2019”.
However, in a dramatic twist, Gov Bello seems unsatisfied with the development. While presenting the 2019 budget to the state assembly for approval, he urged the legislators to probe into the affairs of the state judiciary to unravel the reasons their payroll remained a document for the eyes of only some senior initiates.
The governor lamented that while the legislative arm encouraged it’s staff to participate in the transparency exercise, the judiciary, he said, refused to participate and instead cited notions of independence and autonomy which he noted are dodgy in law.
According to him, “The effort of this House to broker a middle ground was stopped on its tracks by an ex parte injunction curiously obtained while the courts’ staff were on strike and no one else could undertake legal activities in the registry of the courts owing to the strike action.
“As things stand now, the genuine civil servants serving in the judiciary are being forced to boycott their own salaries and pensions while the money for their several months’ pay remained in the bank”.
He lamented that it is most unfortunate that the judiciary which is supposed to be in the vanguard of transparency and accountability is acting otherwise.
JUSUN reacts
Reacting through a statement signed by the state chairman of JUSUN Comrade Emmanuel Waniko, over the issues raised by the governor, Waniko said JUSUN’s interest was in the payment of their salaries through the normal channel just like the NJC does to the federal judiciary workers, notwithstanding all the commendable reforms so far introduced by President Muhammadu Buhari administration without necessarily attempting to humiliate the leadership of the other arms of government.
According to him, “To say some staff of Kogi state judiciary are genuine therefore creates a credibility question on the Judicial Service Commission which is largely constituted by appointees of the executive.
“In addition, it needs be pointed out that in describing workers of the state judiciary as ‘our civil servants’, the speech writers of the governor manifested utter ignorance of the operation of the principle of separation of powers, secured under the constitution”.
Speaking further, he said, “It is heart-warming that the governor acknowledged that Kogi judiciary workers are experiencing needless injury and suffering right now occasioned by the failure of the governor to perform his constitutional duties of releasing funds due to the judiciary”.
Govt justifies action
The director general, Media and Publicity to the governor, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, while speaking on the objectives of the Table Payment said the aim is to ensure that ghost workers do not take the resources of the state in the name of salaries.
It’s condemnable- Lawyer
Commenting on the crisis between the executive and the judiciary in Kogi state, a legal practitioner, Mr Ogu James Onoja, described it as most unfortunate, saying by virtue of separation of power as enshrined in the constitution states that all arms of government ought to enjoy financial autonomy.
“What we are seeing is an attempt by the state government to emasculate the judiciary by bringing them into total subjugation”.
Govt is disobeying the law- Activist
A human rights activist and executive director, Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Idris Miliki Abdul, condemned the action of the government, saying the act of sending a petition to the House of Assembly has undermined the power of the judiciary as an arm of government.
“Imagine a government inaugurated by law busy subverting the law. The present government in Kogi state is not obeying the rule of law. This issue is a constitutional issue which is very clear that fund meant for the judiciary should be given to them through the first line charge which means that if a budget is approved for the judiciary, the executive is expected to release the fund to them on quarterly basis based on the availability of funds.
“Now, as a result of this crises, all courts are shut down which means many cases that are supposed to have been determined by the judges are still in the court; people that have transactions in the court cannot do it and above all judiciary staff are left in bewilderment as far as payment of salary is concerned”.
