- Fayemi declares emergency in water sector
Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
Tension rose at the Ajilosun area of Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State capital yesterday, as suspected gunmen shot and killed an unidentified commuter.
This is coming as the state Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Thursday declared emergency in water sector, saying the people must be saved from preventable illnesses through provision of potable water.
The Ado Ekiti incident, according to eyewitness, occurred around 6.15 a.m when the man said to be driving along Ado-Ikere highway was shot dead .
The incident, which created panic among the residents of the area, occured at the front of the popular Tosin Aluko Motorpark at Ajilosun, Ado Ekiti metropolis.
The deceased was shot in the head and stomach by his assailants.
His corpse was later evacuated by the police at ologede police station and taken to the morgue of the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti.
A source at the scene of the incident said: “The deceased was in the car and the vehicle conveying the gunmen hit his car at the back at that spot.
“ The deceased then alighted from the car to complain over the reckless driving not knowing they were armed robbers and the daredevil bandits opened fire on him and he died immediately”.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti command, DSP Caleb Ikechukwu confirmed the incident.
The police spokesman said: “we have received report about the killing and our men have swung into action.
“ We are yet to know the identities of the deceased but investigation has begun into the killing “, he stated.
Meanwhile, the state governor yesterday promised to take legal and institutional steps to make the state open defecation-free before 2030.
Also in a bid to reduce the level of water borne diseases in Ekiti, Fayemi has also declared emergency in water sector, saying the people must be saved from preventable Illnesses through provision of potable water.
He said the emergency was in line with the step taken by President Muhammadu Buhari, who had initiated similar policy under a programme called Water Supply Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in partnership with the World Bank.
Fayemi spoke in Ikun Ekiti , Moba Local Government Area (LGA) while kicking off the turn-around maintenance of Ero Dam and rehabilitation of main transmission pipelines from Ifaki Ekiti to the state capital.
The project , which will gulp $55 million was awarded to Sagittarius Henan Engineering and is to be completed within 18 months.
He said the WASH programme of the federal government and World Bank was initiated to reduce amount being paid by Nigerians on hospital bills after contacting all forms of diseases from unhygienic water sources.
Fayemi said statistics had shown that water supply to urban cities and rural areas in the country have reduced by 15 and four per cent respectively, in spite of geometric increase in the population.
The governor added that the state had paid a staggering sum of N700 million counterpart fund to complete the project that was approved by the world bank in 2014.
“It was because of the safety of the citizens that the federal government declared emergency in WASH. So, Ekiti has keyed into the programme with this project.
“Ekiti was ranked second in Nigeria as state that practice open defecation . We shall put up institutional and legal frameworks to ensure Ekiti is open defecation free before 2030,” he said.
