NAN-AE-7
Regulation
By Tosin Kolade
Abuja, Jan. 19, 2017 (NAN) The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, has inaugurated a policy document on ‘ Water Use and License Regulation’ to manage the nation’s water resources.
Adamu said this on Thursday at a workshop on “National Water Resources Policy on Integrated Water Resources Management in Nigeria” in Abuja.
The minister said that the document would also address the protection, conservation, control and equitable development to maintain environmental integrity.
He said that the major challenges in the water sector included poor data base management, fragmented sectoral development and uncoordinated water resources management.
Adamu, represented by Mr Benson Ajisegiri, Director, Water Supply in the ministry, said the government was committed to re-positioning the water sector through the Water Resources Policy of Nigeria.
He said that the policy spelt out government’s philosophy and objectives for the nation’s freshwater and non-freshwater, including strategies for meeting these set goals.
The minister said, “on Sept. 28, 2016, the Federal Executive Council approved the National Water Resources Policy and Strategy, setting out clear objectives, goals and targets for the water sector in Nigeria.
“By this policy, the water resources management and development in Nigeria has been re-engineered to achieve socio-economic and environmental sustainability,” he said.
Also, Mr Laoye Jaiyeola, Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Economic Summit Group said there was the need for private sector participation in re-positioning the water sector in the country.
He said private sector participation would help investments, boost water governance and also ensure effective use of water resources to the benefit of all Nigerians.
Similarly, Mr Peter DeVillez, Representative of European Union (EU) Delegation in Nigeria said the organisation had been supporting reform in the sanitation and water sector in the country.
This, he said, included activities to update the National Water Law and to prepare and implement a National Water Policy.
He urged the Federal Government to lay a great foundation to promote real progress in Integrated Water Resources Management in the future.
“With a policy document to guide the sector in the increasingly uncertain future, it behoves on all of us to prepare ourselves for the enacting of the new water bill to become a substantive water law,”he said.
Accordingly, Mr Reuben Habu, Executive Director, Nigeria Integrated Water Resources Management said the formulation of the policy was targeted at giving direction to government’s set goals for the water sector.
Habu said the commission hoped that the dialogue would assist the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to set up guidelines for implementing the strategies therein.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that water is the most importance natural resource, its relevance to national development has progressively increased over the years, with rapid population. (NAN)
TAK/TO/MO
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Edited by Tola Okinbaloy/Morayo Omolade