the State Water Corporation have gone whereby water supply equipment worth over N10 billion naira were destroyed by the state government to give way for a hotel. He further lamented that families of staff of those affected in both organizations have suffered untold hardship while their children have been thrown out of schools. Alhaji Ajagu, who is also a media consultant accused Gov. Obi of exercising dictatorial tendencies and fails to listen to advise since according to him, no right thinking governor will close down facilities of Water Corporation and broadcasting service to give priority to a hotel project. He pointed out that such kind of hotel project being cited in congested part of the town and especially situated between GRA and Onitsha Inland Town with a girls school close by, is inimical to the morals and ethics of decent living, adding that there are enough lands at the outskirts of Onitsha where such projects would be cited. He further accused the governor of privatizing Anambra State and frustrating government owned public institutions to the detriment of the masses geared towards his personal interest. However in its earlier reaction over issues raised by Alhaji Ajagu, the state government has maintained that the ABS was over staffed with redundant staff and that the excess staff would be redeployed to the ministries. The Water Board it says is an independent organization which fends for itself. Meanwhile, reactions are trailing the recent award of the Best Governor on water supply in South East by a group in Abuja on Peter Obi of Anambra State during the just concluded World Water Day. The joint Action Committee of South East Staff Welfare Association of State Water Corporations after a meeting in Onitsha during the week, described the award as fraudulent, wicked and disgraceful. In a statement released in Onitsha after the meeting signed by the chairman of the Association Chief Luke Oganigwe, the association expressed regrets that the Obi administration has not made any meaningful input to the water sector other than newspaper, radio and television propaganda. The association pointed out that the Anambra State Water Corporation is presently passing through the worst times under the Obi administration compared with the past administrations as no major water scheme in the state was rehabilitated or built. They observed that comparatively, all other South east States enjoy pipe borne water averagely except Anambra. According to the statement, the state government employed a divide and rule tactics towards the corporation whereby it withheld the salaries of the workers for 89 months and contracted out all statutory duties of the corporation to incompetent and emergency contractors. The statement further said, even as over 200 staff of the Corporation have starved to death between 2006 (when Gov Obi assumed office) and 2013 when he is due to leave office, the governor has defied the verdict of the courts of law and the recent Federal Government gazette, directing him to settle the workers and return them to their normal working status. In his reaction, the state chairman of Water Consumers Consultative Forum, Chief Chris Onuekwusi condemned attitude and actions of the state government towards the state water Corporation and the workers. According to Chief Onwekwusi, the award given to Gov. Obi is not only ridiculous and stage managed award but a mockery on the hundreds of dead staff and relations of staff of the water corporation whose blood is crying for justice. Chief Onuekwusi further revealed that water crisis in Anambra got to its worst level since the inception of Obis administration adding that children born since 2006 do not know or ever experienced pipe borne water while diseases associated with consumption of dirty boreholes have killed hundreds of people, he lamented. In their own reaction, the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Employees, Anambra State Branch condemned what they called, the pranks played with peoples lives over water supply in Anambra. They described the state as the worst among the 36 states of the Federation where lack of pipe borne water has been threatening the lives of the citizens. The union called on the state government to halt with immediate effect, the 15 yrs concessionary arrangement to hand over the Greater Onitsha Water Scheme to a contractor whose competence they said is doubtful and a relation to the governor whom they accused of being a financial conduit pipe. The union further urged the Federal Government and especially the Federal Minister of Justice to call the Governor Mr. Peter Obi to order over his flagrant abuse of power and rejection of court verdict and Federal Government Gazette to settle all entitlement of the staff of Anambra State water Corporation. The workers expressed outrage at the massive destruction of Onitsha Emergency borehole site and water treatment plant at G.R.A Onitsha which gave way for a hotel project, lamenting that with such huge destruction of water facilities worth over 10 billion naira, Onitsha and environs may never dream of potable water in the near future.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 00:04:14 +0000
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