Environment
Council Seeks Improved Funding For Water, Sanitation Projects
National Coordinator, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) Nigeria, Ms Priscilla Achakpa has called on all tiers of government to budget adequate funds for water and sanitation projects.
She made the call while, speaking with newsmen on the sidelines of the Capacity Building Workshop for Society for Water and Sanitation members in Abuja.
Achakpa said that it was saddening to note that sanitation was not given any consideration in the budgets of the governments, thereby promoting diseases and open defecation practice.
She stressed that Nigeria ought to reduce its disease burden through improved access to potable water and basic sanitation, saying that this could be attained through deliberate and sustained funding.
According to her it was an undisputable fact that the lack of potable water and basic sanitation promoted water-borne diseases and preventable deaths, especially among under-five children.
“At the moment, sanitation is one of the key areas that have not been budgeted for at the federal, states and local government levels.
“Once it concerns the issue of budgeting, nothing is being budgeted for sanitation; everything is about water but you cannot talk about water without sanitation, just like you cannot talk about sanitation without water.
“So, we are saying that the three tiers of government in Nigeria need to put in more funding and make adequate budgetary allocations for water issues because water is life.
“If we don’t have water, it means that we cannot survive in this life; we see other countries going through famine and we know what that means, the absence of water results in famine.
“In a famine situation, we see both animals and human being dying but we don’t need to get to the level.
“We need to put our house in order, which means that Nigeria must enact policies and actions that will address water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issues in the country, while trying to meet the targets of Goal 6 of the SDGs”, she said.
She said that since Nigeria was a signatory to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it was imperative for the Federal Government to begin to implement programmes and policies that would engender an inclusive society.
Speaking on the Partnership for Extended Water and Sanitation (PEWASH) programme which was recently launched, Achakpa said that the FG should implement it as that the programme looked like a presidential fiat when it was launched.
She underscored the need for the Federal Government to develop an action plan and implementation timelines for the PEWASH programme, while considering Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) as active partners.
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.