The World Bank has pledged to continue to support the water, sanitation and hygiene sector in Nigeria.
The new Country Director of the World Bank, Dr Ndiame Diop gave the pledge on Monday when he led his team on a visit to the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof Joseph Utsev in Abuja.
Diop expressed the eagerness for a strengthened partnership and continued collaboration with the ministry for greater success of water policies and programmes in the country.
On his part, the minister called for increased funding to strengthen food security across the nation.
Prof Utsev stressed the importance of allocating resources for food security, pointing out that it would create more employment opportunities and curtail criminal activities among the citizenry.
He further highlighted the necessity of fostering a robust partnership between the World Bank and the ministry to effectively pursue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the implementation of the Sustainable Power and Irrigation Project for Nigeria (SPIN).
Engr Utsev appreciated the outgoing country director of the World Bank, Mr Shubham Chaudhuri, for his commendable service, and wished him well in his future endeavours.
He also pledged to support the incoming director, Mr Diop, for a fruitful tenure.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Alh. Aliyu Shinkafi, emphasised the need for streamlining administrative processes within the World Bank to expedite fund disbursement for project projects execution.
The outgoing country director, Mr Shubham Chaudhuri expressed gratitude to Nigeria and the ministry for their exemplary partnership.
He also lauded Nigeria’s strides in the water and sanitation sector and assured of continued support from the World Bank to further advance the nation’s development goals.
