Date: 2018-12-11

About one hundred and five thousand house holds will be connected to the Ilorin metropolitan water reticulation project within Ilorin township when the project is completed by the Kwara state government. Already, one point nine billion Niara has been budgetted for in the 2019 budget estimate presented to the state House of Assembly by the state governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed for the completion of the project.

The General Manager of the state Water corporation, Malllam Tunde Omoniyi Yahaya disclosed this while answering questions on a Radio Kwara news programme.

Mallam Yahaya said before the commissioning of the initial secondary reticulation water project by the state governor, thirteen thousand, five hundred houses were connected to the project but has presently risen to about forty eight thousand households that now have access to portable water through the pipe network distribution in Ilorin metropolis. "The population of residents of Ilorin metropolis has now increased to about five times compared with what it was few years ago hence higher demand for portable water ".

The General Manager recalled that the water project began in 2003 during the tenure of the former governor of the state, Doctor Bukola Saraki who is now the Senate President when the water demands of the people of Ilorin township was just four million gallons of water per day . According to him , the treated water plant was then pumping twelve million gallons before the present administration under Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed later upgraded and rehabilitated the old plant to thirteen point five million gallons.

He added that after the federal government's intervention, it was increased to twenty five point five million gallons per day describing water project as capital intensive which is a continuous exercise that could not be completed by a particular administration but by subsesive governments.

Mallam Yahaya said for this type of project, the government would face some teeting problems including pipe leakages which he said, were been repaired and replaced and therefore appealed to affected households who are tet to enjoy the facility to be patient as the government was doing everything possible to ensure that pipeborne water flows in all homes.

He expressed regrets that some of the water points are been vandalized and called on the various households to provide security for the equipment.

The General Manager disclosed that the present requirement per day for residents of Ilorin metropolis is about forty five to fifty million gallons per day and the capacity for treated water now is twenty five point five million gallons per day but said the good news is that Asa Dam reservoir of untreated water has a capacity of forty eight million gallons adding that there is still room to expand the water project in the future by subsequent administrations.

Mallam Yahaya assured that other communities in the state are been taken care off explaining that the state water corporation has ninety four water works spread all over the state producing portable water for benefitting communities.