FG reiterates commitment to MDGs targets for water supply, sanitation

The Vice President, Architect Mohammed Namadi Sambo, has reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to meet the Millenium Development Gaols targets for water supply and sanitation considering the abundant water resources, existence of national policies for water supply and sanitation and strategic framework and guidelines as well as existing trained and trainable pool of manpower.
Sambo, represented by Architect Darius Dickson Ishaku, the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs and Overseeing Minister of the Environment, made this known at the opening ceremony of the Nigerian Water Supply Association 3rd Annual Conference, General Meeting/Exhibition, with the theme: “Water Sector Reform: Harnessing Global Knowledge for Local Action.”
Ishaku emphasized the need to reform the water sector.
He stated that reforms could take a range of forms from wholesale and fundamental changes to the way water policies are designed and implemented, to relatively minor adjustment to refine existing policy settings and instruments in order to improve their effectiveness.
He said the Federal Government is adopting several strategies to improve the water supply and sanitation sector.
He added that the reforms would bring up more innovative strategies that would further assist the government to strengthen the existing ones towards ensuring provision of sustainable water supply and sanitation to all Nigerians.
In her keynote address, the Minister of Water Resources, Sarah Ochekpe, represented by the Director of Water Supply in the Ministry, Engr. Bello Tinau, said the theme of the conference is very apt to the current level of development in the water sector as well as the tenets of the Transformation Agenda of the Administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
Ochekpe noted that the objectives of the association, which is concerned with efficiency of water supply for domestic, commercial and industrial use and to ensure coordinated action towards acquiring and improving information on water supply and sanitation from technical, legal, administrative, economic and social points of view.
She added that with such objectives, the Association would contribute to water sector development and charged that all hands to be on deck to make the Association strong and healthy.
She acknowledged the continuous contributions of the development partners to the water sector development.
She assured the Association of the Ministry’s strong support to ensure that its achieves its objectives heights.
Speaking, the first President of the Association, Engr. Mustapha Bukar, represented by Head of PPP and Urban Water Sector Reform in the Ministry, Engr. Benson Ajisegiri, solicited the support for the Association to enable it effect the desired change in the sector, especially in areas such as Human Resources Development, operation and maintenance to transform service delivery and sustainability.
According to him: “One of the best ways to effectively improve water supply delivery in Nigeria is to create a platform that would bring together the experiences of the private sectors, as well as consumers, to chart a way forward towards addressing the widening gap of demand and supply and quality of service.”