The Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu has expressed concern over refusal of state government to key into the Water and Sanitation Hygiene Program (WASH) despite incentives and investments initiatives of the federal government.
Suleiman while speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at the Launch of 2021 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASH NORM) III report.
“You’ve had in my speech mentioning that regardless of the incentives and investments and initiatives of the federal government, if states government do not key into this program, it is not going to happen”.
He explained that the entire wash sector will not be able to meet the sustainable development goals without a concerted effort by the state government to commensurate government effort at the federal level.
“what we are supposed to be doing is to provide the leadership, provide the guidance, provide the policies, but the real work is in the states and the local government and if you’re not getting that faction from that end then whatever we are doing is in vain”.
“So our focus will continue to be to support the states to encourage them. We have come with so many incentives, WASH partners for expanding water sanitation and hygiene, we care with the clean Nigeria campaign which is in line national WASH action plan and the declaration of state of emergency on the wash sector”.
Meanwhile, Suleiman noted that the ministry will focus a lot more also on the federal capital territory, as a federal government, so that we can make such a model.
“So what we are trying to do now, also we have changed our strategy a little bit, we are going to focus a lot more also on the federal capital territory, which is our territory as the federal government, so that we can make it a model”
“The entire wash sector will not be able to meet the sustainable development goals without a concerted effort by the state government to commensurate the effort we are making at the federal level, after all the population are in the states they are not in Abuja”.
Suleiman further stated that the WASH NORM III which focuses on data and survey, indicates that the urban utility component of the survey was retooled to effectively respond to SDGs and to attain such, attention must be paid to the systems and structures around urban water utilities across the country.
