The Plateau State Ministry of Water Resources and Energy has called on the public to disregard recent social media claims about water scarcity in the Jos and Bukuru metropolis, describing the publication as false and lacking in truth.
In an official statement signed by Rahab Tali Mshelia, the Information Officer for the Honourable Commissioner of the ministry, the government addressed the misinformation, assuring citizens that significant progress has been made to improve water supply in the affected areas.
“The publication, without the benefit of government’s water supply roadmap, mentioned areas where Government has already completed the engineering design preparatory to providing them with water as captured in this year’s budget,” the statement reads.
The ministry further explained that the government recently extended over 70 kilometers of pipeline to areas including Gyel, Kwata, Lodik, Gold and Base, and Gwarandok, with prepaid water meters installed in those communities. Engineering design has also been completed for pipeline extensions to Tudun Wada, Agwan Clinic, and other parts of the metropolis.
In addition, the ministry highlighted ongoing efforts to rehabilitate key water infrastructures. “Arrangements are almost completed for the award of contracts for the rehabilitation of the Yakubu Gowon Dam and Laminga water treatment plants under the Plateau State Urban Water Supply Projects, assisted by the French Development Agency,” the ministry noted.
It was further revealed that the Yelwa/Bukuru water treatment plant has already undergone rehabilitation through the World Bank-assisted SURWASH program.
While acknowledging challenges such as electricity supply, equipment vandalism, and aging infrastructure, the ministry emphasized that these are national issues and assured that temporary measures, including water tanker distribution, are in place while permanent solutions are being pursued.
“We assure citizens that this blackmail and cheap propaganda will not deter government from doing what it needs to do for the state, and so we implore all to join in the task of building a virile state for the good of all,” the statement concluded.
