The Minister of Water Resources,Mr Suleiman Adamu has pledged the commitment of the Federal Government towards improving access to portable water for all Nigerians.
Adamu disclosed this at a news conference in commemoration of the 2021 World Water Day with the Theme” Value Water” on Monday in Abuja.
The Minister said the essence of World Water Day, which was usually celebrated on March 22, is to galvanize action towards active response to water crisis.
According to him,it was also to seek out innovative measures to improve access to portable water supply in the name of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) , water and sanitation for all by 2030.
He stated that water for all implies that the elderly, disabled, marginalized and poor people get access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation in line with SDG 6,1 and 6,2, whoever you are, wherever you are, you have a right to water.
The Minister said that to ensure the sustainability of water value, there was need to put in place the principle of Integrated Water Resources Management which would promote and coordinate the development of the commodity and other related resources.
He reiterated some of the challenges threatening the value of water and said there was an urgent need to conserve the essential commodity to avoid its scarcity.
The Country Director, WaterAID Nigeria, Ms Evelyn Mere, said that more than 60 million Nigerians do not have access to portable water and called on the governmentt to prioritize the commodity to keep its value.
Mere said climate change had continued to put pressure on water resources that are already overstretched due to inadequate infrastructure and poor management and” called on governmentt at sub- national and national levels to prioritize water in their climate plans and address current and future threat to water access.”.
