There was a mild drama in Pallam Village of Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa on Friday when a newly sunk borehole failed to pump water during its formal inauguration by the state Commissioner for Water Resources.
The Commissioner, Julius Kadala, who represented the state governor at the occasion, was shocked and felt embarrassed when water failed to flow from the hand pump after several minutes of pumping by him.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that other dignitaries, including members of the state House of Assembly and traditional rulers, also looked visibly embarrassed by the incident.
The water project was initiated and sponsored by United States based non- governmental organisation “Zumunta Association, Washington DC chapter” for Pallam community, which is among areas recovered from Boko Haram insurgents.
“This is embarrassing and unfortunate; I want to draw the attention of Zumunta Association that this borehole it donated is not functional,” Mr. Kadala said.
He directed that the contractor that handled the project be invited to tackle the problem.
Also speaking, Yusuf Muhammed, Chairman of Madagali Local Government Council, expressed displeasure, adding that if the council had been involved in the project, it would have ensured that the right thing was done.
“If we have been informed from the beginning of the project, we could have monitored the work to its logical conclusion.” Mr. Muhammed said.
He, however, thanked the NGO for its good intention of identifying with the plight of the community that was trying to pick up after the insurgency.
Responding on behalf of the organisation, Hazial Haniel, the supervisor of the project, said that he was not ruling out the possibility of act of sabotage.
“I am highly surprised about this development as this morning before your arrival, I took bath with water from the pump,” Mr. Haniel said.
He said that he would send a situation report to the initiator for necessary action.
[NAN]
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