State Legislators Raise Concern Over Uneven Distribution of Water Projects

Nasarawa State House of Assembly has raised concern that the continuous selective citing of water projects by the State Water supply and Sanitation Agency NARUWASSA may reflect negatively on the state government’s development efforts.

The Assembly made this known when the management of the agency appeared to defend their budget expenditure in the first quarter of 2024.

When the Nasarawa State Water Supply and Sanitation Agency presented its budget expenditure before the Assembly’s Committee on Water Resources and Rural Development for evaluation, the committee was surprised by the agency’s selective approach in citing water projects across the State.

Chairman of the committee, John Ovey, accused NARUWASSA of concentrating their projects in a few local governments while neglecting others, expressing concerns that this could spark crises and tarnish the image of the State Government. Ovey urged the agency to be transparent and equitable in its allocation of water projects.

In addition to the scrutiny of NARUWASSA’s budget, the management of the state Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development also appeared before the committee where it raised issues about the ministry’s low budget performance and encouraged them to adopt better strategies for water supply in the state.

To this end, Chairman of the committee John Ovey appealed to the State Government to increase the budgetary allocation of the ministry, noting the critical importance of water to human life.

However, the State House of Assembly’s committee on Water Resources and Rural Development stepped down the budget assessment of Water Board due to the management’s inability to provide essential documents.