Business
Stakeholders Want Implementation Of N85bn Water Resources Budget
Stakeholders in the water sector on Tuesday called for full implementation of the N85 billion earmarked for the Federal Ministry of Water Resources in 2017 budget.
They told The Tide source in Abuja that doing this would go a long way in ensuring that the country meets its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets by 2030.
The stakeholders added that it would also improve access to water and sanitation for all.
Mr Oseloka Zikora, Outgoing Programmes Coordinator, Africa Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), said there was the need for increasing funding for the water and sanitation sector.
According to him, investing in this sector will have a ripple effect on other sectors, which would lead to overall development.
“Increasing funding for water resources development would have a value adding impact on all other sectors such as health, reduction in water borne diseases, availability of water and sanitation facilities would improve school enrollment.
“We also believe that when you invest in water resources development, it would have multiplier effect on energy, because when you build multipurpose dam, you are able to get energy resource from that,” he said.
Zikora, who is also the Chairman, Governing Board, Federal Polytechnic Offa, said this would also promote irrigation and agriculture towards increasing food production and job opportunity for teeming unemployed youths.
Mr Victor Olaomi, Coordinator, Alliance for Hygiene Promotion, said the total amount for the sector was great, saying emphasis should be placed on projects that would touch the lives of people, especially in rural areas.
He said: “we really commend the Federal Government for the increase, if you look at what we have now and in previous years, you would see that there is improvement.
“It is commendable, but there is a lot more that can be done, we call for more capital projects that will have direct impact on the people.
“We call for projects that will directly benefit the people in terms of water supply, sanitation and hygiene, and not just building infrastructure alone.”
Olaomi said transforming the lives of Nigerians, especially in rural areas, would have direct impact on how inclusive development could be for the nation.
He urged state governments to take a cue from what the Federal Government was doing in terms improving their own budgets for water, saying transforming lives happen mostly at the state and local government levels.
He said access to water supply and sanitation was the first step to overcoming poverty, saying that there was the need for stakeholders to consciously prioritise water supply. He also called for effective measures to ensure that capital projects were completed; stressing that there should be an end to abandoned projects.
Ms Priscilla Achakpa, the National Coordinator, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) Nigeria, bemoaned the low priority given to the sanitation sector, as the bulk of the money was for Integrated Water Resource Management and River Basins.
The coordinator, who commended the increase in budget to the water sector, however, lamented that the issues of sanitation and hygiene had not been getting the desired governments’ attention.
Achakpa then stressed the need to scale-up funding to sanitation, hygiene and gender, noting that NGOs also needed to scale up awareness for government to realise the importance of funding the sector.
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, John Enoh said this at the 8th annual induction and conference of the Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN).
He explained that abandoned projects continue to lock up public funds that could have been used for infrastructure development, industrial growth, job creation and essential social services.
Represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Chris Osa Isokpunwu, he said the impact goes beyond financial losses, as incomplete projects affect communities and limit access to important public services
He cited examples of that remain unopened, schools that cannot accommodate students, roads that fail to connect communities and electricity projects that have not delivered their intended benefits.
The Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of CIPMN, Henry Ifeanyi Mbadiwe, also identified poor project management as a major challenge affecting development in Nigeria.
He revealed that the institute had developed a project management curriculum for Nigerian universities, which has received approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC). The programme is expected to enable universities to offer project management as a bachelor’s degree.
Mbadiwe further referenced findings by the Presidential Projects Assessment Committee, which identified 11,886 ongoing federal capital projects in 2011, with an estimated financial commitment of ?7.78 trillion.
He noted that inadequate planning, supervision, accountability and implementation were among the factors contributing to the abandonment of projects across the country.
The minister called for stronger project management structures across ministries, departments and agencies to improve planning, monitoring and evaluation.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment had introduced a 90-day implementation reporting cycle to strengthen transparency and monitor the progress of government programmes.
Ikenga said the company remained committed to Nigeria’s power sector and would continue investing in its operations despite the challenging business environment.
He spoke in Lagos at the third edition of the Shell Power Conference, themed “Powering Nigeria’s Progress: Turning Ambition and Action into Sustainable Impact”.
The Transcorp Power chief said the company would sustain electricity generation, invest in its facilities and deliver value to shareholders.
“Transcorp Power is a long-term player, not a short-term player. This year has been challenging, but what is important is getting power to schools, hospitals and businesses to power progress,” he said.
Ikenga said the company’s focus on operational efficiency and investment had strengthened its contribution to Nigeria’s electricity supply.
He disclosed that since acquiring the Ughelli Power Plant in Delta State in 2013, Transcorp Power had quadrupled its available generation capacity.
He also said the company became the first privatised power generation firm to receive a post-privatisation discharge certificate after fulfilling all its privatisation obligations.
The company’s unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, showed a profit before tax of N83.1 billion, while its profit-before-tax margin rose to 31.2 per cent from 29.6 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Its total assets rose to 11.7 per cent amounting to N629.5 billion, while shareholders’ funds grew 8.9 per cent to N199.8 billion. Cash and cash equivalents also rose to N10.3 billion, supported by improved collections.
On the company’s contribution to grid stability, Ikenga said Transcorp Power’s black-start capability enabled it to restart operations without relying on electricity from the national grid.
He explained that the capability allowed the company to support power restoration following grid disturbances, helping to restore electricity supply to homes, businesses and industries.
Ikenga noted that Nigeria had an installed electricity generation capacity of about 13,000 megawatts, with an estimated potential of 50 gigawatts, adding that realising the potential would require effective coordination across the entire value chain.
“Everything in the value chain has to work,” he said.
He called for stronger collaboration among federal and state governments, regulators and private-sector operators, alongside increased private investment, to build a sustainable electricity market.
This was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Communications and Press Secretary, Maryann Duke.
The statement said Oyedele pointed to “improved digital systems, including electronic invoicing, as a key driver behind a record of N33tn in government revenue collected between January and October 2026.”
The minister said the performance demonstrated the potential of technology to improve revenue administration, strengthen compliance and increase efficiency across government institutions.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Digital Sovereignty and Ethics: Guarding the Economy for the Next Generation,’ Oyedele warned that Nigeria risked losing substantial economic opportunities if it continued to depend heavily on foreign digital infrastructure.
Citing Nigerian Communications Commission figures, he disclosed that the country recorded more than 157 million active internet subscriptions as of May 2026.
He explained that these connections generated significant volumes of information through financial transactions, healthcare, education and taxation.
However, citing estimates from the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Oyedele said as much as 90 per cent of the country’s data was hosted abroad.
According to him, the situation has implications for foreign exchange expenditure, employment opportunities, technological skills and Nigeria’s control over information generated by its citizens.
He compared the country’s reliance on foreign digital infrastructure with its historical dependence on imported refined petroleum products, warning against a situation where Nigerian data would be processed abroad and the resulting services sold back to domestic users.
The minister consequently advocated greater investment in local data infrastructure, technical expertise, cybersecurity and predictable regulations to enable Nigerian businesses to capture more value from the digital economy.
He clarified that digital sovereignty should not translate into technological isolation but should strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to participate competitively in international markets.
Addressing graduating students, Oyedele urged young Nigerians to become developers of technological solutions rather than remain primarily consumers of products created elsewhere.
He identified artificial intelligence as both a disruptive force and an opportunity for innovation, advising graduates to acquire relevant digital skills alongside critical thinking, creativity, sound judgement and integrity.
The minister also cautioned against irresponsible online behaviour, explaining that digital footprints increasingly influence employment prospects, commercial relationships and professional credibility.
Oyedele outlined five priorities for graduates, including continuous learning, value creation, integrity, responsible digital citizenship and active participation in national development.
“Your degree is evidence of what you have learned. Your competence will demonstrate what you can do. Your character will reveal who you truly are,” he told the graduating students.
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