Stakeholders at a national conference on water resources have presented 13 recommendations to avert an imminent water crisis in Nigeria.
The stakeholders, in a communique at the conference, expressed the view that the recommendations would ensure reforms for the optimal utilization of Nigeria’s massive water resources.
In the 13-point recommendations at the end of the 11th National Water Conference, the stakeholders said the water sector is facing challenges that if not addressed would lead to imminent crises in the near future.
Such challenges and gaps include poor utilization of indigenous knowledge in managing water resources, inadequate community engagement, underutilization of stored water, inconsistent government policies, poor watershed management, inadequate capacity building, non-adherence to budgetary allocations, poor maintenance, and non-passage of Water Resources Bill.
Reading the communique signed jointly by the Director General of National Water Resources Institute, NWRI, Kaduna, Professor Emmanuel Adahnu and the Managing Director, Upper Benue River Basin Development Authority, UBRBDA Yola, Eng. Caleb Tyowuah, the chairman of the Central Planning Committee of the conference, Dr Martins Eduvie said, in view of the identified challenges, far-reaching recommendations were proffered.
According to Eduvie, the recommendations include factoring water as a potential crisis factor which should be included in the national security agenda; emplacing far reaching water sector reforms; and giving private players the leverage to invest in infrastructural development.
The stakeholders also urged the government to intensify efforts to utilize existing stored water to enhance water supply, invest in resilient water infrastructure that can withstand climate change impacts, and allocate 15 to 20 percent of public funding as budgetary allocation to the water sector.
The participants also stressed the need for the executive and legislative arms of government to reconsider the passage and signing of the Water Resources Bill.