Minister tasks professionals on management of resources

Minister for water resources, Suleiman Adamu has urged stakeholders in the water sector to ensure adequate management of the resources in a scientific and professional way in tandem with international best practices.

Adamu stated this at the yearly lecture/investiture of Prof. Fola Lasisi as the 10th President of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE) in Lagos.The minister revealed that the sustainability of the water industry is presently threatened by land degradation, deforestation, rapid population growth, poor sector investment, as well as climate change noting that these challenges have placed pressure on water resources systems of the country

According to him, the challenges necessitated the prompt intervention of the ministry in the sector. He warned that the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has predicted that Nigeria may become water stressed between the year 2025 and 2050, as water availability would severely constrain socio-economic development and environmental protection as it reduces to less than 1000m3 per capita, if the current population growth persists.

He assured Nigerians that the nation would benefit immensely from the Water Resources Bill meant to provide for professional and efficient management of all surface and ground water if it pulled through in the national assembly.

According to him, the bill is designed to also provide good governance practice and investable opportunities for the private and public investors in the water sector.In a lecture titled; “Current Developments in Nigeria’s water resources sector”, Adamu, who was represented by Prof. Emmanuel Ada Adanu stressed that the Federal Government intends to ensure that through the provisions of the law the resources of the nation are protected, conserved, and managed in a sustainable way for all, in accordance with the mandate.

In his remarks, the new President of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, Prof. Fola Lasisi canvassed for support from relevant stakeholders on the bill for improvement water sector in Nigeria. He said the objective was to address the issue of significant impact to the country’s socio-economic development.

Lasisi said the current development in Nigeria’s water resources sector is in furtherance of the academy’s avowed commitment to positively impact Nigerian economy and social life of the people.According to him, the Academy has over the years showed some of its operations by promoting the usefulness of engineering and technology as the true foundations for the development of the country.

“In recent times, our major focus is to encourage more cooperation with international academies and all stakeholders in engineering to focus on challenges such as; energy, infrastructure and security”, he stated.