As a result of the persistent water shortage that plagued the state capital during the Eid-el-Kabir holiday, heads may start to roll at the Sokoto State Water Board.

Areas worse hit include Sabon Birni, Gobirawa, Anguwar Roko, opposite Gidan Tarihi, Dutsen Assada, some parts of Minanatta, Dan Hili, and Sabon Titi.

Atiku UbanDoma, Sabon Birni, Aliyu Jodi, and Kofar Kade, among other residential areas, locals were spotted chasing after water trucks while others traveled to the Water Board’s headquarters and water treatment facilities on Illela Road to fetch water.

Some residents alleged that the water board was supplying untreated, adulterated water, brownish in colour that had bad taste.

Miffed by the ugly scenario, and despite the sum of N114 million provided for the board recently, the state government swiftly responded to investigate and resolve the matter.

Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal while expressing his displeasure over the issue when, he paid the traditional Sallah homage to the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar at his palace said, only this week his administration provided N114 million to the state water board for it to tackle issues bedeviling water scarcity in the state metropolis. He said he is surprised that the problem persists, thus his decision that the state government will investigate what went wrong.

A source at the Water Board said that aside unavailability of diesel, other logistics like debt owed to contractors supplying water treatment chemicals were challenges being faced.

According to the source, “the high cost of diesel has made the water board resort to distributing water by using tankers that go to households and, contractors stopped supply of water treatment chemicals because of unpaid accumulated expenses.”

Isma’ila Umar-Sanda, general manager of the Sokoto State Water Board, said that reporters were simply out to find bad news when contacted on the phone. He emphasized that all hiccups were transient and that attempts were being made to resolve them when he said that journalists did not approach the board about its everyday duties until things went wrong. He further stated that the state did not have a commissioner for water resources.