Ado-Ekiti — Special Adviser to the Ekiti State Governor on Infrastructure and Public Utilities Mr. Kayode Jegede, has said that efforts of past administrations to improve water supply in the state failed because of alleged poor implementation and politicization of the programme.

Addressing newsmen yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, Jegede alleged that some of the concessioners hired by past administrations were considered for the programme based on political consideration, thereby making the programme a complete failure.

He, however, said that the present state government is preparing a master plan that would restructure the water sector in the state, adding that the restructuring would not lead to job cuts in the civil service.

As part of efforts to ensure water supply across the state, he said government would connect 1, 770 watering points in the state with pipes to all dams in line with the 2011 Millennium Development Goals(MDGs).

The governor's aide declared that government has engaged some consultants to prepare a framework and master plan on how to revamp the water sector.

Jegede maintained that the new arrangement is geared towards correcting the mistakes of the past in the sector and not an attempt to sack any worker as witnessed during the water concessioning scheme under previous administration .

"This programme is just to prepare a framework to ensure effective water supply and not an attempt to sack any worker. In this programme, all the workers of the state's Water Corporation and the Bureau of Public Utilities will be optimally utilized to achieve our aim and those that have no requisite expertise will be transferred to other ministries , departments or agencies of government," he said.

He lamented that the 1,770 water points dug across the 177 wards in the state during the execution of 2007 MDGs project in the state were not well planned, adding that the government of that time only preoccupied itself with how to dig water points without plans on how to lay the pipes and connect them to the dams for effective water supply .