Residents of Otuoke in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the hometown of former President Goodluck Jonathan, are suffering from acute shortage of potable water, and this is for real.
The rivers, which serve as the only source of potable water for the community, have been polluted by oil and residents said they have been contending with the scarcity of potable water for years notwithstanding the former president is from the community.
“You will not believe it that here in Otuoke, we use water from an unused suck-away pit dug near our lodge, for washing clothes and bathing.
“For cooking and drinking, we buy sachet water; life is very difficult here; we spend the bulk of our monthly allowances on water for survival,” a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) serving in the area, Emmanuel Agede, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Otuoke on Sunday.
Agede expressed dissatisfaction with the situation and called for government’s intervention. Chairman, Community Development Committee (CDC), Elijah Ateki, stated that lack of potable water was the major problem in the community.
According to him, the situation is due to the pollution of rivers in the area by oil spillage.
He said the community had suffered inadequate potable water over the years, and urged the State and Federal Governments to provide the people with potable water.
“Otuoke community depends on rivers and now that all the rivers are polluted by oil, it is difficult for us to get potable water here,” Ateki said.
For 16 years, between 1999 and 2015, Jonathan held strategic positions in the country which was expected to have conferred advantage on the community.
For eight years, he served as deputy governor and governor of Bayelsa State and spent the last eight years as vice president and president. I
n the build up to the March 28 presidential election, Jonathan admitted that had failed to execute people-oriented projects in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
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