Barely three months after assuming office as Member representing Makurdi-North State Constituency, Rt. Hon. Berger Alfred Emberga has begun drilling and commissioning motorised boreholes in communities that have long faced serious water challenges.
The interventions have already reached multiple locations across the constituency, with more projects still underway. His first 100 days in office were marked by the commissioning of two motorised boreholes at the popular Mammy Market in the 72 Barracks North Bank area and another at Zarki Amu House, opposite Aper Aku Estate.
Additional boreholes have been provided in Yagba Community North Bank, behind St. James Catholic Church in North Bank, Asase II Community, the Village Market in North Bank, Sokoto Street in Wadata, Tse Dei-Mbayougu, Tse-Imande-Apku, Tse Adee-Mbayougu, the Triangle Area opposite Dayspring North Bank, the Veterinary Area, and behind the former Gandy Hotel in North Bank-Makurdi.
The projects also cover areas from Yagba to Wadata, Aper Aku Estate, Mbawa, Nyiev, Mbagwen and Uke communities, as well as North Bank Market and Triangle. Altogether, water is now being brought closer to residents in over 20 locations.
The spread of the boreholes cuts across markets, school areas, worship centres and residential settlements, addressing long-standing needs in places where access to clean water has been limited. At Mammy Market, the borehole supports local businesses, including the production and sale of burukutu, where water is essential for production, cleaning and hygiene. In Asase II, residents who previously depended on a rocky water source near the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church axis now have a more accessible alternative.
Access to nearby boreholes is expected to reduce the time families spend searching for water, ease the burden on children who fetch it, improve sanitation for traders and restore a measure of dignity to communities that have endured prolonged scarcity.
According to a statement by Zape Michael Upaa, Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, the projects represent a practical response to a basic need. He noted that while a borehole may not be a grand monument, a flowing tap becomes a powerful measure of representation in everyday life. The statement concluded that when water flows, life returns, and in Makurdi North the water story is increasingly being written one borehole, one community and one life at a time.
