Covid-19: Declare Real Emergency In Water Sector Now, AUPCTRE Tells FG

Related stories

Trump announces new tariffs of up to 40% on a growing number of countries  

President Donald Trump cranked up the pressure Monday on...

OPEC+ to Complete Unwinding of Oil Output Cuts With Big September Hike

OPEC+ plans to fully unwind its 2.2 million...

Shettima Says Nigeria Not Interested in Pursuing Nuclear Weapons

By Abiola Olawale Vice President Kashim Shettima has reiterated Nigeria’s...

[VIDEO] First Class journalist-Scholar, Reuben Abati Blasts Wike Over Church Thanksgiving on Completed Projects

By Abiola Olawale Veteran international journalist, lawyer and first class...

Iranian President Accuses Israel of Failed Assassination Plot

By Abiola Olawale Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has made a...
  • Says Lack of Access to Portable Water Impeding Fight Against Rampaging Virus

The Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) has advised government at all levels to remove impediments to accessing portable water if the campaign to check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic must be won.

In a statement issued in Abuja and signed by AUPCTRE General Secretary, Comrade Musa Ukpo, the body said that the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommendation on hand-washing with soap, which the federal and state governments continually echo in their public communication reinforces the centrality of water in combating the virus, and equally exposed the lip-service the Nigerian government has paid to this crucial need of the citizenry.

Read also: Ekiti Records First Coronavirus Death

The group alerted that some of the noticeable threats to universal access to water in Nigeria include poor budgetary allocation to the sector, and the growing recourse to various forms of privatizations that can best be described as “abdication of responsibility.”

AUPCTRE National President, Comrade Benjamin Anthony said: “While the public awareness communication, including the hand washing messages from government at all levels are laudable, the absence of concrete policies and actions to address the root cause of unavailability of water in our communities makes mockery of the campaign to check the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Comrade Anthony expressed concern that more than two years after the federal government declared a state of emergency in the water sector, nothing meaningful has happened at national and state levels except recommendations on how to abdicate responsibility to for-profit only entities, including corporations that have failed in their countries of origin.

The AUPCTRE national president pointed out that the Nigerian water sector is plagued by poor budgetary allocation, lack of political will on the part of government and the recourse to all forms of privatization, including the much-discredited Public Private Partnership (PPP) promoted by the World Bank, which prioritizes profits over basic rights.

He opined however, that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the magnitude of neglect the water sector has suffered, even as he added that most of waterworks across the country are currently either shut down, running at far below capacity, and managed by poorly remunerated staff.

“The systemic neglect of the waterworks across the federation is to pave way for privatization and this game plan is on in Lagos, a state of over 21 million people that continues to romance with the idea of the failed PPP model marketed by the World Bank. Other states of the federation are also toeing this slippery path”.

“Privatisation –be it PPP or any other model will take water farther away from local communities that are in dire need of water and put it only in the tanks of the rich. This is why we fear situations like what happened in Flint and Pittsburgh in US may happen here and make communities vulnerable to the COVID-19 and other illnesses
He recommended that to solve the water crisis in Nigeria federal and state governments must build the political will to prioritize water for the people, leading to a comprehensive plan that invests public funds in water infrastructure necessary to provide universal water access, which will create jobs, improve public health, and invigorate the national economy.

“It is now time for the federal and state governments stop the sloganeering that deprive our people of a basic right and makes them vulnerable to illnesses including the COVID-19. It is now time for the real emergency in the water sector and implementation of real solutions. The price of delay will be costly”, he stressed.

'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide's journalism works intersect business, environment, politics and developmental issues. Among a number of local and international publications, his work has appeared in the New York Times. He's a winner of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Award. Currently, the Online Editor at The New Diplomat, Akintomide has produced reports that uniquely spoke to Nigeria's experience on Climate Change issues. When Akintomide is not writing, volunteering or working on a media project, you can find him seeing beautiful sites like the sandy beaches that bedecked the Lagos coastline.

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

Latest stories

NDN
Latest News
Trump announces new tariffs of up to 40% on a growing number of countries  OPEC+ to Complete Unwinding of Oil Output Cuts With Big September HikeShettima Says Nigeria Not Interested in Pursuing Nuclear Weapons[VIDEO] First Class journalist-Scholar, Reuben Abati Blasts Wike Over Church Thanksgiving on Completed ProjectsIranian President Accuses Israel of Failed Assassination Plot2027: Yobe Swings as Adamu Waziri, PDP's BoT member Dumps Party for ADCSaudi Arabia Raises Oil PricesGrass Cutting! Ex-SGF Babachir Lawal Dumps APC, Heads to ADC Ahead 2027Drama in Kano, as 58 Inmates Seat for 2025 NECO SSCESword of Democles! Trump’s 10% Tariff Threat Dangles Over Nigeria, Others Over BRICS PartnershipMakinde Mourns as Olubadan’s Passes Away at 90Concerns Soars as Nigeria Unbelievably Lags Behind Libya, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea in World Bank’s 2025 Income Rankings2027: Political Intrigues Escalate as Obi Affirms Presidential Ambition, Declines VP SlotOjuri and Her One-Upper Friend: A Story About Listening, Healing, and Guarding Your PeaceRanked: The Best Countries for Work-Life Balance in 2025
X whatsapp