Water Crisis: Date set to declare emergency in water sector

Suleiman Adamu, the Minister of Water Resources on Thursday said President Muhammadu Buhari would declare a state of emergency on water and sanitation come November 8.

Mr Adamu made the disclosure during the Special Town Hall Meeting of the Federal Government held at Emeritus Prof. Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall of University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan.

The town hall meeting was aimed at briefing the people on the achievements of the Buhari-led administration in infrastructure development.

“I wish to inform you that for the first time in Africa, President Buhari is going to declare state of emergency on water and sanitation, precisely on November 8.

The minister lamented about several abandoned water projects across the federation under the past administrations and said that sum of N3 billion would be provided annually to states with workable water master plans.

“The existing master plan on water resources in the country was abandoned and contracts were awarded without recourse to the needs of the country.

“To realise adequate water supply, we would increase our intervention to support state governments to N3 billion annually. This would be for states that have proper water master plan,” he said.

He said government would also return the monthly environmental sanitation to address issue of open defecation and other sanitation issues.

He said the federal government was working round the clock to provide adequate water supply to communities and cities across Nigeria.

The minister said the present administration had inaugurated many water projects, among which he said were to cater for power supply, irrigation dams and domestic water supply.

He said, “It is a shame that today, there is no single city in this country that can boast of pipe-borne water supply and 100 per cent coverage to all the citizens.

“This is why the president has decided to take up the responsibility of supporting water infrastructure in Nigeria.’’

The minister also said that the federal government was working on Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Bank to assist 6 cities in country on urban water supply.

He added that government would also sign a partnership arrangement to improve on the Ikere Gorge Dam in Iseyin to harness its full potential