KWSG TO PARTNER FEDERAL MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES ON SURWASH

Commissioner for Water Resources, Hon. Usman Yunusa Lade (Middle), Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Christiana Omolola Asonibare (1st right) and the Representative of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Abuja Mr. Abdulyekeen Shafiu Olutade (1st left) during the meeting


... kwara to benefit from $60m World Bank grant


The Kwara State Government has expressed its commitment to partner with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Abuja, on Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme (SURWASH).


The State Commissioner for Water Resources, Hon. Usman Yunusa Lade stated this yesterday at a meeting held at the conference room of the Ministry.


"Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene is like a sister programme to Partnership for Expansion of Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH), that will help to improve the living standard of our people. His Excellency, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, is always interested in programmes like this that will benefit our people," he said.


Lade pledged the state government's readiness to harness the available resources to key into the programme for the betterment of the people in the state.


Addressing the major stakeholders during his presentation, the representative of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Abuja, who is also the Institutional Policy Development Officer of SURWASH, Mr. Abdulyekeen Shafiu Olutade hinted that the purpose of the visit was to introduce the In-depth Engineering Limited as the consultant engaged by the federal government of Nigeria for the SURWASH Programme.


Kwara State, he said, would benefit from the $60 Million which is a grant from the World Bank through the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation as a form of technical support for the State Ministry and other WASH agencies in the state.


Mr. Olutade briefed the participants that the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari declared a state of emergency in the WASH sector in 2018 to revitalise it for being in comatose for decades.


He stressed that the state and local governments need to put in place certain basic things in order to be able to properly key into the programme.


Olutade emphasized further that the SURWASH programme is supported by the World Bank with seven states as pioneer states that have met eligibility and readiness criteria for participation in the programme.


The states are Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina and Plateau, noting that nine other states and the FCT are in the second tier and have also met the eligibility criteria to access technical assistance as well.


The nine other states are Abia, Anambra, Bauchi, Edo, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger, Oyo, Taraba, and the FCT, Abuja.


Commissioner for Water Resources, Hon. Usman Yunusa Lade (4th right), Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Christiana Asonibare (3rd right), the Representative of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Abuja, Mr. Abdulyekeen Shafiu Olutade and others in a group photograph after meeting.


He explained that the programme is to strengthen and expand access to WASH services in Nigeria while simultaneously improving their effective management and sustainability.


In her contribution, the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Christiana Asonibare thanked the representative of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources for the robust deliberations and opportunity given to the state.


She pledged the staff support for the timely provision of the necessary requirements and success of the programme in the state.


Also speaking, the General Manager of the State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), Ilorin, Mr. Olorunfemi Oladipo said that the programme was very timely, especially at this crucial period that the state government is investing heavily in the WASH sector.


Adamu M Saidu

Press Secretary

Ministry of Water Resources

08038450894

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