Ogun State Government has reiterated its commitment to building resilient water systems, strengthening utilities, investing in infrastructure, and aligning its development agenda with the SDGs, particularly Goals 6 and 11.
Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on SDGs and Water Resources, Damilola Otubanjo, disclosed that efforts are underway to create a master plan aimed at enhancing water access, assessing the efficacy of current systems and formulating a strategy that establishes the state as a benchmark for sustainable water governance.
Otubanjo assured residents that the master plan, once fully developed, will lead to improved service delivery, including the reactivation of various non-functional water schemes.
She gave the assurance on Tuesday, during a stakeholders validation workshop organized to review the initial sector diagnostic assessment undertaken by consultants engaged through the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation.
According to her, the ultimate goal is to establish a structured plan that guides government actions and attracts robust investments into the water and sanitation sector.
Otubanjo said, “We are here to examine the gaps that continue to affect reliable water access. We would have a proper master plan that guides our actions and efforts, but beyond the master plan, it’s also important that we have plans that allow for robust investment in the water and sanitation sector.
“ Our people should expect improved service delivery in terms of how we are able to bring back to reactivation numbers of our scheme that are currently not working. We are doing all we can to make sure that we are not just reactive in our responses to fixing many schemes that are currently not functioning, but also have a properly structured programme to ensure that it’s adequate and it’s robust”.
Speaking at the event, Muinat Jaji, the Governor’s Consultant on Water Resources, explained that the consultants engaged by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation had inspected various water schemes across the state to assess current infrastructure conditions and identified gaps, adding that the workshop was held to allow stakeholders to review, validate, and provide feedback on the diagnostic report.
“We have a lot of gaps and this they have accessed, but before they can validate that report, they call for a stakeholders workshop to review their findings after which will be validated,” Jaji said.
She underlined that in order to ensure thorough growth of the state’s water supply and sanitation sector, the plan is designed for short-term, medium-term, and long-term interventions.
Meanwhile, Dr. Linda Akpami, Project Director for the consultancy firm, asserted that the master plan will cover a 30-year projection period, outlining necessary components to ensure water facilities are efficient, functional, and capable of providing clean, potable water to consumers
Akpami revealed that, in addition to preparing the master plan, the firm will also provide technical advisory support to the state during implementation.
Ogun pledges to revamp water sector, improve service delivery
