The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, has urged state governments to show greater commitment to implementing the Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (SURWASH) programme.
He said this would help accelerate access to safe water and improved sanitation across the country.
Utsev made the call on Wednesday in Abuja while declaring open the Fourth Federal Steering Committee Meeting of the World Bank–assisted SURWASH programme.
He said the meeting was convened to review progress in the seven implementing states of Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina, and Plateau and to consider their revised work plans for approval.
The minister expressed concern over delays in the submission of state work plans, saying it was one of the major factors affecting the pace of implementation.
“We must all show stronger ownership and commitment at both the federal and state levels if we are to achieve the desired impact of this programme.
“The first phase of the SURWASH restructuring, completed earlier this year, has improved disbursements to states through the achievement of key results under the Disbursement Linked Indicators.
“We are now in the second phase of restructuring, which aims to strengthen programme institutions, improve accountability, and onboard new states into the SURWASH initiative,” he said.
Utsev said the Federal Government was working with the World Bank to onboard 10 additional states, bringing the total number of participating states to 17.
He assured that other states would be included in subsequent cycles to ensure nationwide coverage.
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“Our vision is for all 36 states and the FCT to eventually benefit from SURWASH interventions, in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for universal access to water and sanitation,” he added.
Earlier, the National Programme Coordinator of SURWASH, Mr Abdulhamid Gwaram, said the meeting was crucial to finalising and harmonising work plans from the implementing states for federal approval.
Gwaram assessed the performance of the programme as “very good and modest,” noting that while institutional strengthening had recorded significant success, service delivery was still improving under the performance-based funding model.
“In Result Area One, which focuses on strengthening institutions, we are doing very well.
“However, in service delivery, we are modest because the Programme-for-Results (P4R) model is new to Nigeria. We have faced challenges but are now consolidating and seeing faster progress,” he said.
He added that some states initially misunderstood the funding structure but had since embraced the performance-based approach.
“States now understand that SURWASH is not a repayment programme but one that rewards performance, the better you do, the more support you get.
“We appreciate their growing commitment and urge them to continue working diligently to ensure the programme’s success,” he added.
The SURWASH programme, supported by the World Bank, seeks to increase access to water, sanitation, and hygiene services, strengthen sector institutions, and promote sustainable management of water resources in participating states. (NAN)
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