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Stakeholders Charge FG On Urban Water Supply

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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

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FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.

He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.

“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.

He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.

“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.

 “We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.

“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.

He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.

Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.

He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.

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FAAC Disburses N2.225trn For August, Highest In Nigeria

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The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.

This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.

The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.

Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.

The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.

From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.

From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.

Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.

From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.

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KenPoly Governing Council Decries Inadequate Power Supply, Poor Infrastructure On Campus

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The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.

The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.

The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the  Polytechnic, recently.

Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.

He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.

This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly,  Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.

The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.

Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.

He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.

The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.

Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.

 

Chinedu Wosu

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