by Propositions For Cross River NASS Members To The 10th NASS (III)…
Opportunity Statement
The Obudu Dam Resort, (Not the Ranch), is a multi purpose facility that provides recreational as well as the essential commodity, water to communities around its environs.
Located in Ukwel-Obudu, (my mother’s village), less than 10 kilometers from the Obudu central bus terminal, the dam was destroyed by flood back in 2005 according to Patriot Abohson Sunday, who works at the resort.
“Since then, people only visit the dam during festivities like Valentine’s day and may be Christmas” he says.
The Federal Government on Wednesday 14th August 2012, at a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan, approved the contract sum of N1.165 billion for the rehabilitation of the dam.
Briefing State House correspondents after that particular FEC meeting, former Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Stella Ochekpe, (currently in jail for corruption), accompanied by her former Information counterpart, Labaran Maku, lamented that the dam, which has a storage capacity of 1.25 million cubic meters, had been in an awful state, thereby affecting regional urban water supply in some communities in the area.
She said a memo was raised and submitted to the Council to enable the government of Cross River State embark on its regional urban water supply project, which will cover four communities: Obudu, Ogoja, Ikom, and Calabar.
She further revealed that, “The Cross River State government has, since 2005, gotten an International Development Association (IDA) loan to develop the regional water scheme that will meet the needs of these communities in Cross River. But because of the state of Obudu Dam, it has been impossible for that project to commence. The contract was awarded at the cost of N1.165 billion.”
The contract for the rehabilitation was awarded to Consolidated Construction Limited, CCL. In another development, the World Bank in collaboration with the Ministry of Water Resources and the Cross River State Water Board Limited, CRSWBL contracted Lilleker Brothers Limited, LBL to construct a water treatment plant, with the second phase being the construction of reticulation channels to benefiting neighboring communities.
When completed, the dam was expected to facilitate the irrigation of about 100 hectares of agricultural land, boost fisheries and promote tourism in the northern part of the State. Details of the contract were headlined across the country and hopes were again high that life will return to the dam in no time, though some stakeholders had cautioned residents not to be too optimistic.
True to the caution, the contract sum was misappropriated. But the good news is that, some of the thieves, former Minister of Water Resources, Sarah Ochekpe, Evans Leo, Sunday Jitong and Raymond Dabo, are in jail, after the EFCC secured their conviction.
*Propositions*
1. Immediate fact finding and on-the-spot visit to the Obudu Dam site by a powerful delegation led by the Senator for Northern Cross River, Jarigbe Agom and the House of Reps Member-Elect, Peter Akpanke, and other colleagues.
2. Immediate fact finding visit to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.
3. Produce a public report on the current state of facilities at the dam, the state of the IDA loan, the whereabout of the FG contract money, and what is currently required to revamp the Dam.
4. Present same to the relevant oversight committees of the NASS and lobby for urgent attention, including headlining same in the same manner the news of the contract award made headlines.
5. Lobby the relevant committees of NASS to make adequate appropriation in the next cycle for commencement of work at the Dam.
This effort should be led by Senator Jarigbe Agom, Peter Akpanke and all their colleagues from Cross River, going to the 10th NASS.
Content from CrossRiverWatch/Jonathan Ugbal.
Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.
