EU lament on low investment of state governments in water

The European Union (EU) Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS on Wednesday expressed concern over the low investments of state governments on projects to improve the citizens’ access to water.

Mr Jens Hogel, Head of Health, Nutrition and Resilience Section of the EU Delegation, expressed the worry when he received members of the Society for Water and Sanitation in Abuja.

He said that the development was worrisome, as the state governments appeared uninterested in plans to increase the people’s access, adding that there was also the lack of practical plans to broaden already existing interventions.

According to him, these challenges ought to be addressed because funds invested would definitely bring returns in the areas of livelihood, health care and employment creation.

Hogel said that the body had been contributing to poverty eradication and improved water governance via the Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reform Programme (WSSSRP).

He, however, underscored the need for the citizens to take ownership of the projects in communities by holding their leaders accountable to the promises they made, saying that development partners could not do it alone.

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He reiterated the commitment of the EU to supporting the activities of civil society organisations, which were aimed at improving the people’s access to water and stimulating the country’s development.

Earlier, Mr Benson Attah, the National Coordinator of the Society for Water and Sanitation, said that the visit was to seek out appropriate ways of closing existing gaps in the citizens’ access to water and sanitation in the country.

He noted that Nigeria was lagging behind in meeting the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on water and sanitation, saying it was necessary for the country to increase its investments in those areas to close existing gaps.

Attah said the group was aware of the efforts of Federal Ministry of Water Resources and development partners on the provision of water and sanitation facilities.

He said that the group had also been supporting such efforts in all the states of the federation.

He, however, noted that some state governments had been largely indifferent to the plight and conditions of their citizens, particularly with regard to the dearth of water and sanitation facilities.