By Angela Atabo
Abuja, March 20, 2025 (NAN) The Nigerian Institution of Water Engineers (NIWE) has called on the National Assembly to pass the National Water Bill, saying that it is crucial for ensuring sustainable water supply in the country.
The National Chairman, NIWE, Joshua Sanga, made the call at a news conference on Thursday in Abuja, to commemorate the 2025 World Water Day marked on March 22 yearly.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme for the 2025 commemoration is, “Glacier Preservation”, and it highlights the critical role of glaciers in sustaining life and the water cycle.
Sanga said that the water bill aimed at providing a framework for the sustainable management of water resources, which was essential for addressing the challenges facing the water sector in Nigeria.
He said that the bill would help to improve water governance, increase investment in the water sector, enhance water security, and promote better sanitation and hygiene practices.
“While we use this opportunity to draw attention to the impact of melting glaciers, it is also worthy to note the challenges confronting the water sector in Nigeria.
“The challenges include the deplorable state of water supply and water corporations in various states in Nigeria, low access to potable water and siltation of our rivers and waterways.
“Others include poor water conservation practices and the prolonged delay in the passage of the National Water Bill, amongst others.
“Confronting the above challenges calls for urgent and adaptive actions from all stakeholders, and concerted efforts towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals as it relates to water.
“Such actions include large scale adoption of effective renewable energy sources or a healthy energy mix, to reduce the impact of the activities of man on the environment and, by extension, global warming,” Sanga said.
He said that these challenges would be addressed with the water bill in place, and Nigeria would move ahead in water resources development.
The NIWE chairman assuaged the fears of Nigerians who believed that the water bill was a way of taking their lands and controlling their resources.
“We, as water engineers, are calling on the National Assembly, Federal Ministry of Water Resources and the Presidency to act fast on the bill.
“Some states are afraid that some people will take over their lands, grazing reserve and the rest, but it is not so.
“We are all Nigerians and therefore, our wish as Nigerian water engineers is for all stakeholders to come together to address the concerns raised and find solutions to them,” he said. (NAN)
