Stakeholders in the national urban water supply and sanitation sector have urged the Federal Government to declare state of emergency on urban water supply and sanitation as a veritable means of revitalising the sector across the country.
They also said they have set strategic agenda that would serve as catalyst in raising the bar in urban water supply and sanitation to ensure easy access to potable drinking water while checking diseases caused by poor sanitation conditions in densely populated centres in the cities.
Rising from a national retreat on “Revitalizing the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Sector” held in Abuja, recently, the more than 350 stakeholders from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as well as the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development brainstormed on ways to fashion out appropriate solutions that could revitalize urban water supply and sanitation in Nigeria.
Declared open by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, who also used the platform to launch the Nigerian WASH Diagnostic Report, the 350 stakeholders included minister of water resources, chairman of Senate Committee on Water Resources and chairman, House Committee on Water Resources, 24 state commissioners for water resources, 32 chairmen of state Houses of Assembly Committees on Water Resources, 29 general managers/managing directors of state water corporations/boards, and 15 representatives of development partners such as World Bank Group, African Development Bank, United States Agency for International Development, and WaterAid as well as 240 other critical players in the water and sanitation sector.
While noting the demand-supply gap in urban water supply resulting from rapid population growth and increasing urbanization, and coupled with the current economic realities, the stakeholders agreed to think out-of-the-box, and come up with practical solutions that will rapidly improve access to pipe borne water and adequate sanitation in urban areas.
Regretting the deplorable state of the nation’s urban water supply and sanitation 17 years after the approval and implementation of the National Water Supply and Sanitation Policy 2000, the stakeholders urged the states to show more commitment as well as explore the possibilities of innovative funding and private sector participation in urban water supply and sanitation, insisting that the sector must be run as a business for sustainability.
In a communiqué at the end of the retreat, and signed by Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Hussaini Adamu, the stakeholders noted that Nigeria’s WASH sector was in critical condition and requires immediate attention; saying that in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in WASH, Nigeria must invest, at least, three times more than the current level of investment in the sector.
They stated that the vicious cycle of poor performance of state water agencies (SWAs) can be reversed through focused investments, financial and administrative autonomy, proper accountability with adequate incentive regime, and institutionalization of performance agreements, regretting that lack of political will had impeded efficiency and effectiveness of the sector.
The stakeholders called for a declaration of state of emergency by Mr. President to enhance the political-will for accelerated development of urban water supply and sanitation while charging all states to develop and or approve water policies and laws aimed at developing strategic master plan for urban water and sanitation infrastructure development driven by sustained investment plan.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana