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WaterAid in Nigeria advocates for strengthened Government-CSO partnership

19 December 2011

WaterAid in Nigeria has called for strengthened partnership between the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). Timeyin Uwejamomere, WaterAid in Nigeria's Acting Country Representative, made the call at a 3-day Ministerial Retreat for Directorate cadre staff of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and its parastatals in Kaduna from 14-16 December 2011.

The Acting Country Representative presented a report of a public interest dialogue on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) at which various CSOs had looked at ways to contribute meaningfully to ensuring water supply and sanitation and other water resources programmes are prioritised in Nigeria's development investments and plans.

In his presentation, Timeyin highlighted the recommendations of the dialogue which included:

• The need for CSOs to develop strategies to enable its members to meaningfully engage with the Ministry of Water Resources;
• The need for CSOs to get involved in the budget making and review process at the executive level before the budget reached the National Assembly;
• The need for the involvement of local communities, NGOs, CBOs and FBOs in sensitization, advocacy, awareness, monitoring and evaluation of water and sanitation projects.

Acknowledging the centrality of the water sector to human development, Mrs. Sarah Reng Ochekpe, Minister of Water Resources, said: "Ours is a critical sector that touches on everything that pertains to life and livelihoods and consequently, people's expectations are very high. We cannot afford to take lightly our responsibility to strengthen the policy framework on water, regulation of the water sector or provision of services." Mrs Ochekpe pledged to transform the water delivery sector in order to make positive impact on Nigeria's development agenda.

The aim of the retreat was to review the Ministry's work performance over the past year and plan towards robust service delivery for 2012. There were 250 participants in attendance from the Ministry, its agencies and River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs). There were also participants from other Federal Ministries, the Academia and non-governmental organisations including WaterAid and the office of the Water and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) WASH Ambassador.

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