Stakeholders’ in the Lagos State Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH, sector in collaboration with WaterAid Nigeria today held its inaugural Sector Coordination and Planning Committee, SCPC, meeting towards achieving a greater water security and climate resilience through well managed water resources and services.
The meeting also witnessed the Presentation of the Lagos State WASH Management Information System, LAWMIS to harmonize and coordinate activities of all agencies in the WASH sector for a desirable result.
Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services and Water Resources in Lagos, Mr Mahmud Adegbite, said that the overall goal of the WASH sector coordination is to achieve a veryvibrant, efficient and effective WASH sector in Lagos state, using policy and Law driven sector for effectiveness and efficiency in WASH services delivery.
Mr Adegbite who noted that the coordination would eliminate duplication of duties, said the LAWMIS will also serve as a tool to strengthen planning, monitoring and reporting activities of all agencies under the Lagos WASH sector.
Addressing the stakeholders, WaterAid Nigeria Team Lead for Lagos Office, Dr Adebayo Alao, harped on the need for collaboration between the government and private sector to effectively coordinate and plan for resource mobilisation and utilisation to improve service delivery and achieve universal access to WASH in Lagos state.
Dr Alao emphasized a functional data management platform to encourage planning, budgeting and progress reporting which are essential to have a well coordinated sector plan with annual budgetary allocation and releases.
“To design approaches for inclusiveness that is gender and vulnerable groups,community voices and accountability through a feedbackmechanism for the sector”.
This inaugural meeting is to set the tone and standard for meeting the sector.
The approved WASH policy shall be basis for this sector coordination.
The implementation road which has been developed and shared.
The sector MDAs will be meeting every quarter at least for one day and the following day include identified relevant MDAs”.
Each sector agency will develop an annual plan that will be deliberated and approved at the first quarter meeting of the- sector, as the plan shall have very clear KPls that can be measured for progress, each sector agency shall develop its plan of mobllizing private sector resources and seek interventions towards improving its performance”.
“Resolutions from his two days meeting will be documented arepassed unto the WASH Sector Planning and CoordinationCommittee for deliberation and transmission to the State Executive Council”.
Presenting the LAWMIS document, the Consultant, Mr John Chiokwe, identified the role of each agencies in the WASH sector, and showed stakeholders’ how to upload reports and activities on the LAWMIS website which other agencies can see immediately without overlapping functions for effective service delivery to residents.
Representatives of relevant agencies such as Lagos Water Corporation, LASWARCO, LASEPA, LSWMO, Office of Drainage Services and Water Resources, all presented their activities for 2025, and action plans/projection for the year 2026.
Reporting by Yemisi Dada