The Federal Government yesterday emphasized the need for unity and teamwork among ECOWAS countries for proper utilization of abundant surface and underground water resources to improve on the lives of the people in the sub-region.
Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation Professor Joseph Terlumun Utsev stated this while declaring open, the 5th Ordinary Session of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee of the Integrated Water Resources Management in West Africa held in Abuja.
Prof. Utsev, in a statement by his Personal Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Terhemen Oraduen, said the region has been endowed with abundant water resources, that if properly harnessed, coordinated and managed, will serve as a cornerstone for the development and advancement of the people and impact positively on health, education, tourism, food security, energy and the general well-being of the people.
The Minister however observed that lack of proper coordination of water resources has remained a major challenge warning that if not properly addressed, could lead to underdevelopment and conflict among countries within the sub-region .
Acknowledging the great amount of potentials in the sub-region, Prof. Utsev pointed out that through teamwork, the region was capable of tackling its challenges such as climate change, poverty, unemployment and inequality among others.
He thanked the leadership of the Water Resources Management Centre for selecting Nigeria to be one of the countries to benefit from the 2024 ECOWAS Special Project Implementation for Access to Drinking Water in Rural Areas assuring them that his ministry will leverage on its expertise to ensure that the project is seamlessly delivered.
The meeting which is being attended by Ministers of Water within the ECOWAS sub-region and other critical stakeholders in the water sector is expected to come out with far reaching recommendations and resolutions that will reposition the water sector in West Africa.
