April 12, (THEWILL) – Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, on Thursday, burst unscrupulous water vendors manipulating the distribution network and diverting water flow to create an artificial shortage in Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital.
During a surprise visit to communities in Jere and Maiduguri Metropolis, it was discovered that certain vendors have constructed specialised water pumps to trap water and block for public use to gain commercial benefits.
Expressing his anger, Zulum vowed to take swift and decisive action against those responsible.
He said, “It is unacceptable that some individuals would exploit the suffering of our people for their own selfish gains. We will not tolerate such criminal activities that jeopardise the lives of our citizens.
“It is unfortunate to notice that while the government spends millions to provide water to the people, few individuals have constructed specialised dams, most with multiple layers of reservoirs. Some of them can store more than one million litres of water.
He added, “Every day, our treatment plant processes and distributes about 40 million litres of water; these criminals trap the larger amount of those supplies for commercial gain.
Zulum decried that unscrupulous persons were artificially creating water shortages to inflate prices and maximise their profits while citizens suffered.
