Oyo Approves N800m Water Supply Counterpart Funding

The Oyo State Executive Council on Tuesday approved N800 million as counterpart contribution to Oyo State Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA).

The Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mr Adeniyi Farinto, made this known while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the 21st weekly state executive council meeting.

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According to Farinto, the counterpart contribution is meant to attract a total of N2.97 billion from the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.

“This fund is required to provide for implementation of partnership for expanded water supply, sanitation and hygiene in 20 out of 33 Local Government Areas of the state, as contained in the Oyo State Investment Plan and submitted to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.

“The project will work toward sustainable improvement of the water supply, sanitation and hygiene in urban, small towns and rural areas in the state.

The commissioner further stated that the council approved that a bill to repeal the erstwhile Oyo State Fire Services Law and replace it with the Oyo State Fire Services Agency Law, be forwarded to the State House of Assembly for consideration.

“What that does essentially is to replace what was once a unit under the Ministry of Public Works and Infastructure and create a full fledged agency under the Office of the Governor for effective monitoring,” he explained.

The commissioner said that the decision became expedient because of fire incidents the state had witnessed in recent times.

He said the agency was to coordinate the activities of fire authorities across the length and breadth of the state.

Also, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, said the council gave approval for online verification exercise for pensioners who were in Diaspora.

According to Olatunbosun, the council has directed the consultant in charge of the verification exercise to also capture the pensioners who are out of the country in the ongoing civil servants/ pensioners verification exercise.