By Abdullahi Lukman
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring citizens have access to clean, safe and sustainable water and sanitation services.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, stated this on Tuesday while addressing participants at the Africa Water Sanitation Systems Leadership Symposium in Kigali, Rwanda.
Utsev said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was transforming Nigeria’s water and sanitation sector from fragmented institutions into a coordinated national system by bringing stakeholders together through reforms, programmes and projects.
He listed key initiatives to include the Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (SURWASH), Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign, Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria (SPIN), Partnership for Expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH), and the National Action Plan.
The minister said the government was implementing the initiatives in partnership with organisations including the World Bank, African Development Bank, UNICEF, WaterAid and private-sector stakeholders.
According to him, the government is also developing a National Water Compact aimed at addressing water needs for people, food and the environment as part of efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 by 2030.
He added that the compact was being developed in collaboration with state and local governments, with its final draft expected to be validated by stakeholders this month.
Utsev further said Nigeria, through the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), was working with other African countries to advance the Africa Implementation Programme.
He called for stronger collaboration among African leaders, development partners and other stakeholders to accelerate progress towards universal access to safe and sustainable water and sanitation services.
Earlier, Rwanda’s Prime Minister, Dr Justin Nsengiyumva, urged African leaders and development partners to make firm commitments and take practical steps towards achieving the continent’s vision of universal access to sustainable water and sanitation services by 2063.
The symposium, themed “Accelerating Water and Sanitation Transformation for Sustainable Impact,” is hosted by the Rwandan government, co-convened by AMCOW and facilitated by IRC Africa. It focuses on strengthening leadership, governance, regulation, professional capacity and public financing in Africa’s water and sanitation sector.
More than 700 delegates from Africa and other parts of the world are attending the event.
