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September 4, 2024
SaharaReporters reported on Tuesday that despite severe insecurity issues affecting Sokoto State, the government under Governor Sokoto awarded a N1.2billion contract for repairing 25 boreholes.
Following an earlier report suggesting that the Sokoto State government, under Governor Ahmad Sokoto, awarded a N1.2 billion contract for the renovation of 25 boreholes, the Commissioner for Environment, Nura Shehu Tanga, has issued a clarification.
Tanga stated that the project involves the drilling of new solar-powered boreholes, not the renovation of existing ones.
He explained that before Governor Sokoto took office, there were existing boreholes in the area, but the current project is entirely new.
The newly drilled boreholes, according to Tanga, are located in five different areas: Munki, Manuna, Lugu, Kinawa, and Dawuru.
He noted that similar projects are being implemented across Northern Nigeria, including in Kebbi, Zamfara, and Katsina states, with costs being relatively consistent due to the involvement of the World Bank.
His statement reads, “My attention has been drawn to a video clip where Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto of Sokoto State is quoted to have said that 25 number of boreholes were renovated at the cost of N1.2 billion.
“This project was done under my ministry a.d as the commissioner of the ministry I'm in the best position to clarify this issue.
“The fact of the matter is it was not a new one, it was brand new boreholes drilled by his excellency of Sokoto state and the World Bank project.
“Before he came on board as the Governor of Sokoto State there were many existing boreholes around the area.
“Nothing like boreholes, so we can't talk about renovation that is not in existence.
“What happened is a new one drilled solar powered boreholes in whole local government areas scattered in different places like Munki, Manuna, Lugu, Kinawa and Dawuru. These are five places where these 25 boreholes were drilled.
“And this is a collaboration effort between the Sokoto State government and the World Bank.
“And if you go to any other states which are benefiting from Northern Nigeria you will see the cost is almost the same. This kind of project is everywhere. There are similar projects in Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina and all the 19 states.
“There are similar projects of the same nature and they have been financed by the World Bank and the cost is almost the same. So it is not an issue of renovation, it is an issue of brand new boreholes drilled by the Sokoto State government in collaboration with the World Bank."
SaharaReporters reported on Tuesday that despite severe insecurity issues affecting Sokoto State, the government under Governor Sokoto awarded a N1.2billion contract for repairing 25 boreholes.
This was contained in a video obtained by SaharaReporters, in which the governor addressed residents in Hausa language.
He stated, “We have given out a contract for the repair of 25 boreholes at the rate of one billion two hundred million (N1,200,000,00).
“We have also approved the construction of the Lugu Dam at a cost of N33 billion.”
Sokoto, like several Northwest states, has been in the grip of bandits, picturing the alarming insecurity and poverty in the region.
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