By Muhd A. Haidar
The Minister of Water Resources, Engr Suleiman Adamu has revealed that the ministry saved the sum of N53 billion from the review of 26 contracts on various projects, earlier awarded by previous administrations.
Engr. Suleiman disclosed this at a public presentation of the 5-Year Compendium on Water Resources Development in Nigeria (2015 – 2020), in Abuja, said, “The stringent processes enabled us to achieve a substantial reduction on the request for contract review on 26 major projects, thereby saving about N53 billion on the costs of the contracts, even before reviewing by the Bureau for Public Procurement.
This achievement according to the minister is profoundly significant to us in the ministry as it showcases prudent management of resources, and high levels of transparency and accountability in governance.
He further disclosed that his team was re-engaging the National Assembly with a view to getting the National Water Bill passed into law. “The Ministry is currently re-engaging with the 9th National Assembly to ensure its passage. It might interest you to know that the Bill, when passed into Law will: establish effective water sector governance in Nigeria in line with global best practices; Provide for effective catchment management; and enhance greater participation of farmers in irrigation management.
Engr Adamu added that the Bill, when passed into law, would provide the regulatory framework for private sector participation in water supply delivery in the country and provide for a Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Fund to support financial investment by States & LGAs in the provision of WASH Services.
In addition to the National Water Resources Bill, the water resources policies provide guidelines for operational activities in the water sector. The minister said that the Ministry’s 2019 – 2023 deliverables would include the provision of support to the implementation of water management and water settlement projects in Nigeria in the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP).
The NLTP is a federal government programme designed to address the incessant conflicts between cattle herdsmen and crop farmers across the country. Under the programme in which some states have indicated willingness to participate in the pilot implementation, herders currently engaging in open crazing would be settled in communities where they would be provided water for their herds and other infrastructure facilities.
According to him, he would work hard to finalise and implement the Flood Management Master Plan for Rivers Niger and Benue, noted that the implementation is expected to end the perennial flooding of residents and farmlands across all communities along the two major rivers from the North to the South-South.
Engr. Adamu also promised an aggressive implementation of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) programmes/projects, and end open defecation in Nigeria, further revealed that a total of 38 LGAs in 9 States have been certified Open Defecation Free (ODF). They consisted of 10 LGAs Katsina (10); six each in Benue, Cross River and Jigawa; four in Bauchi; three in Kano (3); and one each in Osun and Kaduna.