Funke Oyerinde
Ekiti State Government has inaugurated a twenty-one-member
inter-ministerial committee saddled with the responsibility of finding
lasting solutions to issues relating to water resources management and its attendant challenges in the state.
Addressing members of the committee named “Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Committee” during its inauguration in Ado-Ekiti, the
Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure and Public Utilities
(IPU), Professor Mobolaji Aluko urged members of the committee to work in synergy in order to find lasting solutions to the outlined age-long issues.
Aluko explained that Ekiti was endowed with rivers, water schemes and water dams, such as Egbe, Ero, Ureje and Itapaji that were capable of
providing regular clean and potable water to all parts of the State as
well as serving as a veritable source of revenue to the government in the areas of agriculture, transportation and recreation.
Highlighting the terms of reference for the constitution of the
committee to include developing a workable framework for flooding and erosion control, allocation and distribution of potable water
among all users , as well as preventing water pollution in the State.
Prof. Aluko raised alarm over the reducing water and increasing
turbidity levels of Ureje Dam in Ado which are undoubtedly related to
waste and dredging activities in tributaries feeding it.
He urged representatives of Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the committee to identify problems in the sector and come up with
workable solutions, including looking into all the state water- and
water-shed-related laws with a view towards reconciling them.
He reminded those who were present of the warning forecast issued by
the relevant National Weather Monitoring and Emergency Management
Agencies about this year’s rainfall and flooding expectations,
particularly in Ekiti state, calling on the people to support the
government at bringing the expected flood disaster to a minimal level.
Aluko thereby advised the committee to assign sub-technical
committees to work on erosion control in order to avert flooding in
the state this year, as well as on other issues as are periodically
identified.
In his remarks , the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Infrastructure
Public Utilities who is also the Secretary of the Committee, Engr.
Olumide Ajayi, assured that the committee would soon come up with
workable policies, sensitization and awareness programmes that would
address the technicality aspects of water resources management and
prevention of water pollution in the state.
He expressed appreciation to all the Permanent Secretaries, Executives Secretaries, General Manager, and the Managing Director of the State
Water and Sewage Company for their cooperation and thereby sought for their further support towards achieving the IWRM international and global standard practices
The 21-man IWRM committee was set up under EXCOS mandate.