By Muyideen Aliyu, Ilorin
After more than three decades of acute water shortage, the Jebba community in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State is finally experiencing relief following the commissioning of a 200,000-litre capacity water dam by the state government in 2024.
The water operator of the dam, Mr. Suleiman Abdulwaheed, disclosed this during a media tour to the community by members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kwara State Council, over the weekend.
Abdulwaheed explained that the community’s waterworks project began during the administration of former Governor Sha’aba Lafiagi over 30 years ago, but was abandoned by successive governments, leaving residents to suffer from a lack of potable water despite being surrounded by water sources.
According to him, “The story of this community has always been that of a town surrounded by water but with none to drink. Jebba hosts the River Niger and serves as a major transit point for travellers moving between the North and South, yet its residents lacked access to clean water for decades.”
He said the situation had deprived the town of many social and economic opportunities, as its strategic location as a gateway between the North and South should ordinarily make it a thriving hub for travellers and local businesses.
Abdulwaheed recalled that in May 2024, the state government commissioned the 200,000-litre capacity water project, which now supplies about 150,000 litres daily to an overhead tank that distributes water to various fetching points across the community.
He explained that the waterworks, which draws water directly from the River Niger, undergoes multiple purification stages before distribution. “We pump the water from the River Niger into the pressure house where sediments are removed, then into the filter, which makes it 70% clean. After that, it is treated with chlorine and alum and left for 15 to 30 hours before being released to the overhead tank for community consumption,” he said.
Abdulwaheed noted that residents now enjoy clean water supply for three to four hours daily but appealed to the state government to provide a larger mainline pipe and increase the overhead tank capacity to between 300,000 and 400,000 litres.
He also called for a standby generator to ensure steady water distribution for at least 12 hours daily, especially during power outages.
“We sincerely appreciate Governor Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for rescuing the Jebba community from decades of suffering and neglect over water supply,” Abdulwaheed stated.
