By Obiabin Onukwugha
Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has assigned Benue-born Joseph Utsev, as minister in charge of the newly created Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation.
Mr Utsev, who is is a civil engineer and former Rector of Federal Polytechnic, Wanune in Tarka LGA of Benue State, is an associate professor at the University of Agriculture, Makurdi.
He was also former commissioner for Environment and Water Resources under the government of Samuel Ortom in Benue State.
Access to clean water and sanitation are some of the problems facing the Nigerian populace.
It is reported that over 80million Nigerians have limited access to clean Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities.
In 2018, the federal government declared a state of emergency on WASH, thereby launching the National Action Plan (NAP), a 13-year strategy for the Revitalization of Nigeria’s Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Sector aimed at ensuring universal access to sustainable and safely managed WASH services by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Recently, parts of Nigeria have been bedevilled with the problem of flooding, owing to excess rain caused by climate change.
The Federal Ministry of Environment believes that with good sanitation culture, the effects of flooding can be minimal.
The newly appointed minister will be expected to drive the WASH programme of the Federal Government in order to achieve the 2030 SGGs target.
