Environment
WATERAID Nigeria and the Ikorodu North Local Council Development Area (LCDA) have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), with the council increasing its investment in the sector to about N100 million.
The commitment was reaffirmed during a WASH stakeholders’ town hall meeting in Ikeja on Thursday, where community leaders and residents reviewed progress and strategies for sustaining WASH interventions.
Mr Godfrey Iloha, WASH Manager, WaterAid Nigeria, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that WaterAid was an advocacy and influencing organisation working with governments and partners to improve access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene.
Iloha said the organisation mobilised stakeholders and catalysed government action rather than directly delivering WASH infrastructure.
He said many communities mistakenly believed WaterAid was responsible for constructing water projects because of its extensive engagement with residents.
“We work with state and local governments to influence policies and investments that will ensure sustainable access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene,” he said.
According to him, WaterAid created, for the first time in Ikorodu North, a platform where residents engaged directly with elected representatives on WASH challenges.
He said the engagement would help government understand community priorities and accelerate interventions.
Iloha said the LCDA had demonstrated stronger political commitment over the past year by replicating three WaterAid-inspired WASH projects in different communities.
He said the council initially committed N70 million for project replication but had now increased the investment to about N100 million.
He described the development as significant and urged the council to sustain the momentum.
Iloha reiterated that access to water, sanitation and hygiene was a fundamental human right and reaffirmed WaterAid’s commitment to supporting governments and communities to deliver sustainable and inclusive WASH services.
The Chairman of the Community Development Committee (CDC), Ikorodu North LCDA, Prince Adeniran Ogunbanwo, said the council had demonstrated strong political will by sustaining virtually all WaterAid interventions in the area.
He said host communities took ownership of the facilities, while the council intervened whenever technical or financial challenges exceeded community capacity.
Ogunbanwo disclosed that the council was simultaneously constructing three water facilities using WaterAid’s model, with the first expected to be completed next month.
He said WaterAid’s engagements with councillors, council executives and community leaders had clarified the responsibilities of every stakeholder in ensuring sustainable WASH services.
According to him, the town hall meeting also enabled communities to identify and prioritise their WASH challenges while understanding the appropriate channels for seeking government intervention.
He said the Environmental Health Department had intensified advocacy and public enlightenment campaigns to eliminate open defecation across the LCDA.
Ogunbanwo said the council was also encouraging private sector investment in public toilets and water facilities to bridge existing gaps.
He explained that the council was willing to facilitate access to land for credible private investors willing to develop public sanitation facilities.
Beyond WASH, Ogunbanwo said the council had expanded improvements at the Odonla Primary Health Centre after WaterAid’s intervention and provided an ambulance to strengthen healthcare delivery.
He added that Olorunda Primary Health Centre would commence 24-hour operations before the end of the year, while additional primary healthcare centres would also be upgraded.
According to him, the council is replacing temporary health facilities with standard structures and converting electrically powered boreholes to solar-powered systems.
He said improved access to safe water and sanitation would reduce preventable diseases and lessen the burden on primary healthcare facilities.
The Deputy Mayor and Vice Chairman of Ikorodu North LCDA, Mr Matthew Aliu, said the council had partnered with WaterAid since 2022 to improve access to safe water and sanitation in schools, markets, health facilities and communities.
Aliu, who represented the Chairman of the LCDA, Mr Ibrahim Apanishile at the meeting, said government officials had been actively involved in implementing and sustaining WaterAid projects.
He said he headed the council’s WASH Committee, demonstrating the administration’s commitment to ensuring long-term sustainability.
According to him, the council had repaired vandalised and faulty facilities and was laying structures that would ensure future administrations continued maintaining completed projects.
“We want these facilities to remain functional for decades, even after our tenure,” he said.
Aliu said the council had also commenced similar solar-powered water projects with its own resources in communities, at the LASMA office and the Army Children’s School.
He added that eight of the council’s 10 primary health centres had been equipped with solar-powered water systems inspired by WaterAid’s model.
He said the facilities supplied treated and chlorinated water that was safe for public consumption.
Aliu commended WaterAid for providing more than 20 water facilities across Ikorodu North.
He said replicating such investments solely with council resources would have taken many years.
“WaterAid has made us proud, and we must reciprocate by fulfilling our responsibility as a government to sustain and expand these interventions for our people,” he said. (NAN)
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Tags: Ikorodu North LCDA Town Hall meeting WaterAid Nigeria