The Lagos State Ministry of Environment and WaterAid Nigeria have assured Lagos residents of increased access to potable water supply by the end of 2025.
Mr Adegbite Mahmood, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Service and Water Resources, Ministry of Environment, gave the assurance during an interactive session with officials of WaterAid Nigeria on Friday in Lagos.
The session had the theme: “Provision of Clean and Drinkable Water in Lagos State.”
Mahamood said the state was doing all it could to ensure a remarkable increase in access to potable water by the end of 2025.
“We all know that water is life, and just as someone asked what the access rates are, I will tell you that right now, it is very low.
“However, there are programmes in the pipeline and those currently ongoing, like the Adiyan 2 project, which is to supply 17 million gallons of water daily to Lagsians.
“So, once that is done, we have another 15 million gallons, and coupled with all other interventions that we have, I am very certain that by the end of 2025, there will be a remarkable increase in access,” he said.
He said the state was putting everything in place to ensure wider access to water to all and sundry.
“There are massive rehabilitation going on on all our mini-micro and water works, as well as the major ones.
“So, by the end of the day, before the end of this administration, at least Lagos will have gotten to a minimum of 200 million gallons per day,” he said.
Earlier, the Head, Lagos Programme, WaterAid Nigeria, Dr Adebayo Alao, said the organisation’s ambition was to reach 10 million Nigerians by 2028.
“By 2028, our ambition is to reach 10 million people directly and 17 million people indirectly through our interventions with Basic Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) access.
“To achieve this, we will align our work over the next five years with two strategic aims, which are, achieve universal, sustainable, and safe services in focused geographic areas to influence wider change,” Alao said.
He added that WaterAid would strengthen the resilience of WASH to climate change.
Alao described Lagos as a mega city with huge investment potential for WASH.
This, he said, was why Water Aid was maximising opportunities of growing population to boost the WASH supply chain.
“Hence, we are collaborating with Lagos State by supporting the WASH Policy Process,” he said.
Alao said WaterAid had supported capacity building of the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission for effective regulation of the WASH sector.
“We have supported the technical assessment of several dysfunctional waterworks to support an increase in urban water supply.
“This has led to the ongoing rehabilitation of the Akilo Waterworks that is costing over N800 million.
“We have also supported the construction and rehabilitation of community water schemes in 17 communities in Ikorodu North and Ojodu LCDAs to the tune of over N400 million.
“We have supported the rehabilitation and construction of water and sanitation facilities in some Lagos schools between 2022 and 2024,” he said.
The Special Adviser to the Governor, Mr Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, said the state was not in support of drilling of boreholes.
“Ordinarily, the state did not support the drilling of boreholes, but due to the absence of overall supply of water, or usable water, it is allowed it, just for the meantime.
“This is why the state is doing so much to see that potable water is available and supplied to every nook and cranny of the state,” he said.
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