Water: Sanwo-Olu demands action from partners

For Lagos State government to address its water, security, and climate change challenges, there is need for concerted efforts for innovative financing through public, private partnerships and community engagements.

The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Utsev, threw the challenge at the opening of a two-day Lagos International Water Conference held on Victoria Island.

While commending the Lagos State Government for being at the forefront of policies in the Water Sector, the Minister called on Nigerians to embrace the Clean Nigeria Initiative to curtail water borne diseases especially the ongoing spread of Cholera in some parts of the country.

On his part, the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said there would be stronger enforcement than before, with a promise to make the seventy million-gallon Adiyan Water Works functional before next year’s conference.

In their goodwill messages, the Consul-General of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Lagos, Mr Michel Deleen, challenged the Lagos State government to enforce its environmental laws to curtail the perennial flooding in the state, while the Country Director, WaterAid Nigeria, Ms Evelyn Mere, advocated more provision of WASH facilities in public arenas to prevent spread of communicable diseases.

In an address of welcome, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission, Mrs Funke Adepoju, noted that the objective of the conference is to set new benchmarks for progress, developing innovative financing models to achieve sustainable water and sanitation solutions in Lagos.

The theme of the Lagos International Water Conference is “Financing Water and Sanitation for a greater Lagos”.