W’Bank decries Nigeria’s water, sanitation crisis as FG distributes relief materials to flood victims

The Federal Government has begun the distribution of 50 tonnes of relief materials and 18, 653 bags of rice donated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Bank of Industry (BOI) to flood victims in 16 states.

Flagging off the exercise yesterday in Abuja, Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Zubaida Umar, explained that the donations were to support the government’s effort at reducing the impact of the natural disaster on the most affected communities.

She said: “We are handing over of 18,653 bags of 10kg rice donated by the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the 50 tonnes (1,696 cartons) of humanitarian relief aid donated by the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to support the ongoing efforts of the federal and state governments of Nigeria in mitigating the impact of the ongoing flood and other disasters in the country.

“The donations of relief materials by both BOI and the government of UAE symbolise the manifestation of deep sympathy for people severely impacted by disasters on one hand, and a long-standing bilateral relationship between Nigeria and the UAE, on the other.”

The DG that the 18,779 bags of rice were shared among six states to assist Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in camps across the federation.

The benefiting states include Imo with 3,500 bags, Benue, 3,000 bags; Plateau, 1,669 bags; Jigawa, 3,000 bags; Katsina, 3,850 bags, and Zamfara got 3,634 bags.

Ten states have, however, been listed as beneficiaries of the UAE donation. They were selected based on the degree of flood impact and severity of need.

They include Borno State with 256 cartons; Bauchi, 160 cartons; Sokoto, 160 cartons; Adamawa, 160 cartons; Kano, 160 cartons. and Bayelsa got 160 cartons.

Others are Ondo with 160 cartons; Abia, 160 cartons; Rivers, 160 cartons, while Enugu goes with 160 cartons.

Earlier, Director, Relief and Rehabilitation, NEMA, Abdullah Usur, said the gesture further entrenched the essence of a multi-stakeholder and multi-national approach to disaster management from a global perspective.

He confirmed that emergency management agency coordinators from the benefiting states would take delivery of the items from NEMA’s warehouses.

MEANWHILE, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Ndiame Diop, has expressed concern over the nation’s poor progress in water and sanitation, citing inadequate participation from sub-national governments in the implementation of the Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene Programme (SURWASH) as major obstacles.

Speaking at a roundtable of stakeholders, including the seven state governors in the SURWASH, Diop emphasised that Nigeria’s water and sanitation situation has reached emergency levels, calling for urgent collective action from implementing authorities.

He said millions of Nigerians lack access to basic drinking water, sanitation, and handwashing facilities, which are essential for health and well-being.

Diop acknowledges that decades of under-investment and low prioritisation in the water sector have contributed to the challenges.

In his remarks on behalf of his colleagues, Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umar Radda, attributed the previous lack of state government’s participation to insufficient awareness.

According to him, the governors were not aware of what was expected from them.

He assured that with the discussion, they were now better informed of their roles.

The Minister of Water Resources, Prof Joseph Utsev, affirmed the ministry’s commitment to enhancing state participation in SURWASH, and announced plans to immediately commence conducting awareness visits to participating states.