The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, has inaugurated a policy document on Water Use and Licence Regulation to manage the nation’s water resources.
Adamu said this at a workshop on “National Water Resources Policy on Integrated Water Resources Management in Nigeria” in Abuja.
The minister said that the documents would also address the protection, conservation, control and equitable development to maintain environment integrity.
He said that the major challenges in the water sector included poor data base management, fragmented sectoral development and uncoordinated water resources management.
Adamu, represented by   Director, Water Supply in the ministry, Mr Benson Ajisegiri, said the government was committed to re-positioning the water sector through the Water Resources Policy of Nigeria.
He said that the policy spelt out government’s philosophy  and objective for the nation’s freshwater and non freshwater, including strategies for meeting these set goals.
The minister said, “on September  28, 2016, the Federal Executive Council approved the National Water Resources Policy and Strategy, setting out clear objective, goals and targets for the water sector in Nigeria.
“By this policy, the water resources management and development in Nigeria has been re-engineered to achieve socio-economic and environmental sustainability,” he said.
Also,  Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Economic Summit Group Mr Laoye Jaiyeola,said there was the need for private sector participating in re-positioning the water sector in the country.
He said private sector participation would help investments, boost water governance and also ensure effective use of water resources to the benefit of all Nigerians.
Similarly, Representative of European Union (EU) Delegation in Nigeria Mr Peter De Villez, said the organisation had been supporting reform in the sanitation and water sector in the country.
This, he said included activities to update the National Water Law and to prepare and implement a National Water Policy.
He urged the Federal Government to lay a great foundation to promote real progress in Integrated Water Resources Management in the future.
“With a policy document to guide the sector in the increasingly uncertain future, it behoves on all of us to prepare ourselves for the enacting of the new water bill to become a substantive water law, he said.
Accordingly, Executive Director, Nigeria Integrated Water Resources Management Mr Reuben Habu, said the formulation of the policy was targeted at giving direction to government’s set goals for the water sector.
Habu said the commission hoped that the dialogue would assist the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to set up guidelines for implementing the strategies therein.
The correspondent reports  that water is the most importance natural resource, its relevance to national development has progressively increased over the years, with rapid population.