By ADERONKE OJEDIRAN

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has solicited partnerships from stakeholders in the public and private sectors in tackling water resource management challenges in the state.

Sanwo-Olu made the appeal on Tuesday at the Fifth Lagos International Water Conference in Lagos.

The conference had the theme: “Financing Water and Sanitation for a Greater Lagos”.

The governor expressed dissatisfaction that Lagos State Water Corporation had not been innovative enough to create solutions to water resource management challenges in the state in spite of international trainings of its staff.

“We have had several World Bank best trainers.

“They have been trained in best institutions but that has not put solutions on the table for us, that has not resolved the challenges that we have.

“Water, as Fela said, has no enemy, but it has got a lot of enemies because we are all not sincere or serious and true to ourselves.

“We all need to ask ourselves how well we are playing these roles. How well are we moving from lip service to being able to resolve the issues?” Sanwo-Olu asked.

Sanwo-Olu said that water remained important to the government and people of Lagos State.

“In the last five years, this administration has been dedicated to financing this conference with discussions as to how to straighten water resource management.

“Our focus includes regulating the water sector, promoting public/ private partnerships; we believe this will fill the gaps and foster operational efficiency of Lagos State Water Corporation.

“We want to move away from talk to action, we want to move to action. It is the fifth year we are coming for the water conference. I want to see the outcomes and the outputs.

“We have increased our spending in this sector, we appreciate how Denmark and the Netherlands have collaborated with us.”

He said that If the state government had not been proactive, the recent outbreak of cholera in the state would have become a pandemic.

The Minister for Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, also called for more public/private partnerships in order to find permanent solutions to water resource management problems.

“I am proud of Lagos and its strides.

“We need more collaborations between the private and public sectors, we need each other to find solutions,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference held at the Eko Hotel and Suites on Victoria Island. (NAN)

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