Lagos Requires Less Than 1% Of $1.7 Trillion Needed Globally For Clean Water Adequacy – Sanwo-Olu

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said that the state requires less than one percent of the $1.7 trillion needed globally to address the gap in clean water adequacy in the state.

The governor stated this on Friday at a side meeting with the theme: “Valuing Water: A Lifeline in Climate Transition”, organised by Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum and Sustainable Market Initiative at the ongoing 28th session of Conference of Parties (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This was disclosed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Gboyega Akosile.

According to Sanwo-Olu, the state needs long-term financing to address water infrastructure shortage.

He disclosed that Lagos, with 22 million population, has a daily demand of 700 million gallons of potable water, but noted that the state could hardly supply 210 million gallons per day due to shortage of infrastructure.

The governor explained that the state is challenged by increasing demand for clean water, adding that the inadequacy of supply infrastructure could raise disease vulnerability in underserved communities.

Sanwo-Olu pointed out that the state, despite being surrounded by abundant water bodies, could only manage to utilise 40 per cent of its installed water facilities.

He said: “Lagos has an investment of about $2.8 billion in water infrastructure, but there is a burden on the huge population, as we need to create an ecosystem where we can have access to basic needs in the 21 century. Given our meagre resources, it is really a challenge but we certainly cannot continue to give excuses. This gap is being felt by underserved communities and the risk to public is high.

“We have continued to allocate resources to this sector from our budget, but the intervention is hardly enough to serve the needs of the residents. Four years ago, I gave a commitment of $100 million, but this is like a drop, given the number of investment required to fully explore the potential in the sector. We have huge infrastructure that is not being utilised, making us to operate at less than 40 per cent of the installed capacity.

“Out of the $1.7 trillion needed globally to address gap in clean water adequacy, Lagos requires less one per cent of the funds to provide safe water. It is my belief that this conversation would lead to sustainable solution that would meet the needs of millions of people that want water adequacy. Our goal is making committed partners believe in economic viability of their investments.”

He listed the country’s energy crisis as another factor slowing down the provision of clean water, stressing that irregular power supply rendered resources allocated to the sector inefficient.

While calling for equity in global investment towards accelerating water adequacy, he stated that with 65 per cent of its population made up of young people of under 30, Lagos remained an African asset on which viable investments could be made.

He said: “It does not really matter which part of the world we come from, we all need equal access and must be able to hold ourselves accountable on this. In channeling resources, equity has to be major focus of the global response.

“Lagos has the population. That is why we said a focused investment on water project in the most populated city in West Africa and in a population that is coming to raise global productivity by 2040 is one in the right direction.”