Nigeria to get 55 per cent ECOWAS water intervention fund
From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria will get about 55 per cent of regional water intervention fund from Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitisation, Sediko Douka, announced this at the fifth ordinary session of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee (MMC) meeting on permanent framework for coordination and monitoring of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Abuja.
He explained that the fund is based on Nigeria’s large population and contribution to the regional water levy. Douka, who explained that West African states have been committed to integrated water management, leading to an action plan in 2000 and framework in 2001, stressed the need for a new form of water management to tackle water related problems. He stated that the essence of the ministerial monitoring committee meeting was to revitalise cooperation and implementation of the regional water policies for the development of the region.
Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof Terlumun Utsev, while declaring the meeting open, stated that unity is all that is needed for the development of the water sector. “There is a saying that ‘teamwork makes the dream work’. This can also be said about our sub-region. To truly see growth in the sub-region, we need to be united and work as a team, especially when it comes to the management of our water resources, both surface and underground.
“The sub-region has a great amount of potential, and through working together, we can foster a region that can solve its challenges – from climate change, poverty, unemployment, inequality, and more.
“It will impact positively on health, education, tourism, food security and energy. However, lack of proper coordination will lead to underdevelopment and conflict among countries because activities of one country at the upstream could constitute danger to other countries downstream,” Utsev stated.
About 54 ministers of water resources from African countries participated in the meeting.
