The Oyo State Government has called for the World Bank’s investment in its bid to achieve universal access to safe drinking water and mitigate the effects of climate change.
The Executive Chairman, Oyo State Water Corporation, Hon. Elias Adeojo recently made the call during a meeting with some officials of the Bank at the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (IUFMP), Ikolaba, Ibadan.
He said the Oyo State government is investing strategically in building safe drinking water systems by not only increasing funding, but also putting in capacities to plan, coordinate, and regulate service provision.
Adeojo further revealed that the provision of potable water is capital-intensive but not profit-oriented as the Corporation cannot charge the consumers for production costs.
Hon. Adeojo said, “The Oyo State Government has invested heavily in water facilities across the State but still requires external support like grants from the World Bank”.
He equally stressed that power being a major factor that drives the Corporation’s facilities has been at lower ebbs and needs to be alternated with hydropower.
The Chairman said a new technology known as hydrogen power which can also be sold for the sustainability of the Corporation will be introduced.
Adeojo said the new policy will aid the Corporation especially as the delisting of power generation from the exclusive list of the Federal Government is in the pipeline.
In their separate response, Mr. Francis Nkoka, the Task Team leader for IUFMP World Bank office, Malawi and Mr. Tochi Sinoda, World Bank Office, Washington DC, promised to assess the requests of the State Government on potable water but added that the issue of tackling flood in the State is germane to the residents of the State.
The duo then called on the Management of the Corporation on the need to form a synergy between the State Ministry of Environment and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to make a success the fight against the scourge of flood in the State.
Present in the meeting were top officials of the Corporation, officials from IUFMP, and World Bank officials, as disclosed in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade.
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