Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru has moved to address the state’s water crisis with the revival of the abandoned ₦16 billion Oferekpe Water Scheme, a major project expected to significantly improve access to water across the state.
Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State.
The Ebonyi State Government has intensified efforts to end chronic water scarcity across the state, as the administration of Governor Francis Nwifuru undertakes the comprehensive rehabilitation of long-abandoned water projects while expanding reticulation to major commercial hubs and public facilities.
The State Commissioner for Water Resources, Victor Chukwu, made this known during a press briefing in Abakaliki, revealing that substantial public funds have been deployed to breathe new life into critical infrastructure that had sat moribund for years.
Chief among these projects is the massive Oferekpe Water Scheme, a multi-billion naira installation capable of single-handedly transforming the state’s water landscape.
“Imagine a facility that the state spent over N16 billion on as of 2013 to put in place,” Chukwu stated. “Such critical infrastructure was allowed to lie fallow until the present governor came.”
Alongside Oferekpe, the administration has successfully reactivated the Ezillo and Old Abakaliki water schemes. The Ezillo facility is already operational and actively pumping water to parts of the state capital.
However, the commissioner noted that the complete restoration of water to all corridors of Abakaliki is currently hindered by rusted pipelines, severe leakages from prolonged disuse, and widespread vandalism.
Addressing technical bottlenecks at Oferekpe, Chukwu explained that engineers are awaiting the dry season to clear an obstruction affecting raw water flow to the central reservoir.
“Currently, Ezillo Water Scheme is in full operation. Water comes into the city,” he said. “The few problems we are having are maintenance issues along the line from Ezillo water facility because of rust and leakages.”
Similar challenges beset the Old Abakaliki scheme, where municipal development disrupted connections between low-lift and high-lift systems, compounded by years of equipment cannibalisation.
Chukwu emphasised that Governor Nwifuru rejected the common practice of abandoning old projects to start new ones, opting instead for a coordinated strategy centered on continuity, asset recovery, and fiscal responsibility.
Funds have already been released for electromechanical repairs, procurement of water treatment materials, and structural completions.
“Government is supposed to be a continuum,” Chukwu declared. “The height or the peak of corruption is people abandoning critical projects of preceding governments to start new ones, ignoring the ones that have been put on the ground.”
He noted that building a scheme comparable to Oferekpe today would cost astronomical sums, making rehabilitation the most sensible path for taxpayers.
Beyond residential supply, the ministry has extended reticulation pipelines directly to commercial hubs, including the Abakaliki International Market.
“Our intention is that every populated public place in the state will have direct water supply from us,” Chukwu noted, adding that reticulation efforts will expand aggressively into rural communities over the coming months.
Pushing back against critics who claim the state cannot deliver clean water, the commissioner maintained that while age-old infrastructural gaps and vandalism remain real hurdles, the state’s massive reinvestment proves otherwise. He urged stakeholders to resist politicising basic utilities.
“Administrations will come, administrations will go, but the state remains,” Chukwu concluded, expressing optimism that the current interventions will permanently upgrade Ebonyi’s water availability in the months ahead.
