NAN-H-47
Water
Chinyere Bassey
Lagos, Dec. 5, 2016 (NAN) The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, says a high percentage of Nigerian households lacks potable water due to rate evasion, poor planning and lack of capacity building.
Adamu spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.
“People living in both the urban and rural areas do not have access to drinkable water because of bad planning and lack of capacity building for workers.
“Many of the Water Board engineers are not versatile with modern technology, and the population of the country has continued to grow,’’ the minister said.
He said that before now, if a new estate emerged, nobody would build any structure on it until government constructed roads and drains, and provided electricity and water.
The minister said that it was regrettable that some Nigerians were not disciplined enough to wait for these before building on a newly acquired land.
“We are not disciplined. When we buy a plot of land, we clear and build,’’ he said.
He also blamed water shortage on failure of some citizens to pay water rate.
“The citizens should pay for water to improve supply. If they pay regularly, money will be generated to expand the system to provide water for all,’’ the minister said.
The minister urged better management of water and increased investment in the sector to ensure adequate provision for all citizens.
He said that although water could be scare in some areas, Nigeria had enough water to meet the citizens’ needs. (NAN)
CHIN/IGO
========
(Edited by Ijeoma Popoola)