EU Spends over €260m to Provide Access Water to 10m Nigerians

EU Spends over €260m to Provide Access Water to 10m Nigerians

By Seriki Adinoyi

The European Union (EU) has disclosed that it spent over €260 million to provide access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene facilities to over 10,000,000 Nigerians in 14 states.

The EU also disclosed that at least 25 Civil Society Organisations have been empowered to drive the process of improved water and sanitation governance in Plateau state.

EU Team Leader for Water and Sanitation Project, Mohammed Tigani, who disclosed this in Jos during the close-out of the EU-fund Technical Assistance to Civil Society Organisation (EU-TAC) project in Plateau State, added that the project started since March 2013 and was initially meant take three years, but was extended 2020.

Tigani, said the project provides capacity building and training of personnel in the Ministry and Water Board, adding that in Plateau, we worked in two Local Government Areas; Riyom and Shendam where a big dam has been built.

Corroborating the EU position, Director of Programmes WaterAid Nigeria, Mr. Adebayo Alao said the project which is been implemented by WaterAid Nigeria, was in collaboration with the Society for Water and Sanitation (NEWSAN), a coalition of CSOs with the mandate to support the development of the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector.

Alao, observed that the journey to improving access to water and sanitation has just began, noting that the project will also be looking at sustenance and consolidation on the gains of the EU-TAC project which is also targeted at accelerating universal access to water and sanitation by 2023.

He said, “We urge the CSOs to continue to advocate for improved WASH access in the state and to promote citizen engagement to deliver on sustainable WASH services”.

Alao also said that increased access to sustained water sanitation and hygiene largely depends on empowered communities and organisations participating in sector governance and working in partnership to negotiate and claim their rights to progressively improved WASH services.

Commending the collaboration of the EU and WaterAid Nigeria, the state Commissioner of Water Resources and Energy, Honourable Saad Ibrahim, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Ezekiel Pam said, the state was working with the project to improve water governance in Plateau.

He lauded the effort of the state for playing its part by paying the counterpart fund required as a commitment, adding that the state had also set up a monitoring and overseeing network that is checking the implementation of water sanitation and hygiene.

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