Environment
Ministry Registers 400 Water Producers, 100 Drillers, Others … Vows To Check Quackery
The Rivers State Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development says it has so far registered 400 water producers, 100 borehole drillers and 15 water quality testing laboratory owners in its portal.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr Ebenezer Kalio disclosed this at the just concluded stakeholders’ forum on water management and regulation, organised by the ministry in Port Harcourt. The forum has as its theme: “Safe Water for Healthy Life.”
Kalio said the ministry under the current administration is doing so much to sanitise the water sector of quackery, adding that some remarkable innovations have been carried out in line with the State Water Sector Reform law No. 7 of 2012.
According to him, in line with the reform, a portal that seeks to identify different practitioners in the water industry was created.
Speaking on the topic: ‘Checking Quackery in the Borehole Drilling Industry,’ the Director, Water Supply, Quantity Control and Sanitation in the Ministry, Engr Amatemeso Emmanuel, decried the influx of quacks into the water industry.
He said the situation had led to saturation of poor quality table waters in the street.
Emmanuel also said some waters were produced in unhygienic environment thereby putting the lives of consumers at risk of contracting waterborne diseases such as typhoid and others.
He stressed the need for the public to cooperate with the authorities by reporting persons who have no appropriate licenses to be in the water sector for appropriate disciplinary measures, adding that it is by so doing that the trend can be checked.
While declaring the meeting opened, the State Commissioner for Water Resources and Rural Development, Dr Tamunosisi Gogo Jaja, said the government was doing everything possible to sanitise the sector of quackery.
Gogo Jaja blamed the causes of most water related illnesses such as: typhoid, cholera and others to the consumption of poor quality water and charged water distributors and consumers to ensure that they knew the source of water before selling them.
The Commissioner said the ministry plans to give certification to water producers who have undergone the ministry’s quality water sample testing exercise.
President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mrs Margaret Oguntala, has inaugurated the construction of 18 units residential terrace in highbrow Alausa area of Lagos toward bridging the nation’s shelter gap.
Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation has launched the 1GOV Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) to enhance digital governance and improve service delivery.
The launch, held on Thursday in Abuja, marks the ministry’s transition from paper-based operations to a smart, integrated and technology-driven work environment.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, said the deployment aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
Utsev said the system would improve data management, streamline workflows and strengthen transparency and accountability across the ministry.
According to him, the ECMS will enhance productivity, preserve institutional memory and reduce operational costs in the ministry.
Launching the platform, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, said the initiative is a major step in public sector reform.
She said the ministry’s mandate affects Nigerians through water supply, sanitation, irrigation, river basin development and climate resilience programmes.
Walson-Jack said the 1GOV ECMS enables secure digital records management, automated workflows, electronic approvals and real-time collaboration across MDAs.
She added that the deployment aligns with the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025 and the directive for full digitalisation by December 2025.
“Effective governance cannot afford delays caused by manual bottlenecks or avoidable inefficiencies,” she said.
She directed that all official correspondence in the ministry must henceforth be processed through approved digital registry channels.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Emanso Umobong, said the system would eliminate workflow inefficiencies and improve service delivery.
She urged staff to fully adopt the platform and engage in continuous capacity building.
Research shows that local communities and citizens living at the grassroots, particularly women, are directly impacted by the environmental degradation, flooding and others that result from these manifestations.
In the light of this, non-governmental organisation, Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development (EUFORDe), has held a forum for women and other members of oil impacted communities, tagged: ‘Voices from the Grassroots,’ and aimed at building their resilience and mitigation efforts against climate change and environmental degradation
The forum, with the theme: ‘Building Resilience for Oil Spill Impacted Ahoada Communities,’ organised with support from Global Green Grants, was held in Ahoada Community, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, on December 5, 2025.
Executive Director of Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development, Mercy Elemchukwu-James, said women are at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and environmental degradation.
The event, therefore, was “designed for community women impacted by oil spills, flooding and other environmental degradation,” she said.
Community women were enlightened by resource persons on new opportunities for sustainable agricultural practices and water management techniques that cushion the impact of oil spills.
Lectures were also delivered on Self-care and Trauma-care, with focus on physical and mental health of the population, and increasing access to health-related resources and services; as well as on Food security and women’s critical role in decision making in oil spill and flood situations in communities
Elemchukwu-James pointed out that the event created a forum for stakeholders, civil society actors and others to dialogue on measures at advancing inclusive and sustainable livelihoods of community women.
She stressed the need for collaborative efforts towards achieving mitigation efforts, while underscoring EUFORDe’s commitment to “fostering partnerships as a critical driver for achieving a healthy community and sustainable development.”
Elemchukwu-James described participants’ design of ‘Community Resilience Plan,’ to manage and combat environmental degradation and crises, as part of achievements recorded at the event.
The forum also witnessed the launching of EUFORDs’ Center For Resilience and Rights.
“This center is established to build resilience as Trauma-Care for victims of environmental degradation, support for survivors of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and a platform where victims of environmental injustice and other GBV cases can seek redress,” Elemchukwu-James said.
Participants celebrated the milestones achieved and charted a path toward greater impact in the coming years. They also described the event as “an inspiring and transformative experience.”
Elemchukwu-James said the awareness creation workshop “reaffirms EUFORDe’s mission to create an equitable society in which the rights and capacities of women, youth, children and underprivileged are integrated in the socio-economic planning and development of communities, for the attainment of equity and peace.
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