By Victoria Ojeme
ABUJA —  Minister of Water Resources, Chief Obadiah Ando, has said 70 million Nigerians live without  access to potable water supply, noting that this represents 6% of world’s 1.1 billion people without safe drinking water.

The minister, who made this known at the ministerial press briefing  in Abuja, Monady, said: “The current water supply service coverage in the country is 54 per cent or 80 million, while sanitation is 32 per cent or 54 million.

“About half of the Nigerian population, 70 million people, is without access to potable water supply, this represents 6 per cent of world’s 1.1 billion people without access to safe drinking water.”

Nigerian woman fetchs water from a local pond, which is a source of drinking water making her susceptible to Guinea worm larvae infestation. Photo by E. Staub, courtesy of the CDC and The Carter Center.

He said there existed an impoundment of about 37 billion cubic meters of water in various dams and reservoirs across the country, adding that  “this is capable of irrigating 1,000,000ha, but only 220,000ha has been developed under formal irrigation, out of which a meagre 82, 500hn is actually being irrigated.”

Ando explained that prior to the de-merger of the ministry from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, efforts had begun to reform the two ministries in order to achieve the goals set by the federal government.

“There has not been any let_up in our determination to see through the reforms.   In this connection, and in order to address some specific areas of the sector, three bills to create two agencies and one commission were forwarded to the National. Assembly for enactment into law.

“The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency has been passed into law, while the Nigerian Integrated Water Resources Commission and the Gurara Dam Management Authority are awaiting passage,” he said.

He said the Nigerian Hydrological Service Agency was informed by the sustainable development of surface and groundwater resources, including construction of viable hydraulic structures, which is based on solid scientific foundation, anchored on hydro-meteorological data.

Ando said “the Ministry of Water Resources, in realization of the social and economic impacts of  the communities affected by flood, was putting in place actions that will reduce impact of  flooding and economic losses as well as the post-flooding health related like water borne diseases”.