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Gyang Bere, Jos
The Plateau State Commissioner of Water Resources and Energy, Hon Ibrahim Bello, says that the Lalong administration is working hard to provide sufficient water for citizens and end open defecation in the state by 2023.
Bello disclosed this in Jos, the Plateau State capital, on Monday while declaring open the state’s observance of the 2020 World Water Day tagged ‘Water and Climate Change’, organised by the European Union Water Supply and Sanitation Reform Programme Phase Three in collaboration with the Plateau State Ministry of Water Resources and Energy.
“We are working to ensure that water is made available to people in Plateau. We are doing a lot to revamp the water sector in the state; that was why the government has declared a state of emergency on the water sector with the good intention of providing quality water to end open defecation by 2023,” Bello said at the event.
He added that the state government has partnered with the private sector to ensure the supply of clean water to every Plateau community.
The Coordinator of Society for Water and Sanitation Plateau State, Dr Vings Lomak, urged government at all level to ensure that water gets to the state’s poorest residents.
“Water is our most precious resource; we must use it more responsibly,” he said. “We must balance all of society’s water needs while ensuring that the poorest people don’t get left behind.”
He described as apt the 2020 theme of this year’s World Water Day and urged stakeholders and government to prioritise access to clean water and sanitation for its citizens to enhance their livelihood and a sustainable environment.
Dr Lomak urged Nigeria to work quickly towards tackling the menace of Climate Change, saying that delay is as dangerous as denial.
“Extreme weather events are making water more scarce, more unpredictable, more polluted. Humans need water to survive, as do all the systems we rely on sanitation, healthcare, education, business and industry,” he stated.
On the topic of the current coronavirus pandemic, Dr Lomak citizens to imbibe a culture of regular handwashing with soap and water and use hand sanitizers as preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19 which has claimed over 14,000 lives worldwide.
