By Jimoh Ahmed, Ikare Akoko

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As the world marked Water Day on Monday, residents of Akoko area of Ondo State said the issue of water scarcity, especially during the dry season, in Akoko land has continued to pose a serious threat to their existence and hinders them from a better life.
They therefore called on the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to be more proactive in the provision of basic water scheme for the downtrodden as this will reduce epidemic.
The people who spoke with The Hope also called on the state Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to revisit the Awara dam project in Ikare Akoko which has capacity to supply the four Akoko local governments.
They urged the Governor Akeredolu, to prevail on the Federal government through the Ministry of Water Resources to take over Awara dam for the benefit of Akoko people.
In a chat with an Akungba Akoko community leader, Chief Saliu Awesu noted with dismay the way many students and residents of the town are always being confronted with water shortage, especially in the dry season.
Chief Awesu said this year’s dry season was so much that many wells dried up while some of the few boreholes were malfunctioning thereby subjecting the residents to rely on other unreliable channels to get water.
Another Akoko leader, Chief Ladi Bello from Akunu Akoko, lamented the neglect of little Ose Dam at Egbe Ekiti state which supposed to be jointly owned by the two states but was not attended to by the successive administrations of Ekiti and Ondo states, subjecting the people to hardship.
The people however appealed to Governor Akeredolu to fulfill his promises to make Awara Dam fully functional before the end of this year.