Lack of water in dam locality worries emir

Despite playing host to Kainji hydro-electricity dam, some communities in Borgu local government area of Niger state lack electricity and have no access to portable water.

The anomaly was re-echoed at the weekend by the Emir of Borgu in Niger state Alhaji Mohammed Sani Kintoro IV, during an assessment visit by Governor Abubakar Sani Bello to Borgu.

The emir lamented that the people of the emirate were dying from water-borne disease and that the hydroelectric dam had affected all portable water sources around the communities which played host to it, stressing that the situation was compounded by the failure of the federal government to provide alternative water sources, thereby leaving the people with the option of relying on contaminated water that often brought death to the emirate.

The emir also said despite being close to electricity source, power supply to New Bussa, the headquarters of Borgu local government had been epileptic, even as many communities within the emirate were not connected to power source.

Responding, Governor Sani Bello, who expressed his administration’s commitment to addressing the basic needs of the people, said the state government had earmarked N43m for water supply project in New Bussa, and that his government would collaborate with other stakeholders to address other grievances and needs of communities hosting the hydro-electric dam