The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof Engr Joseph Terlumun Utsev, on Monday equated Nigeria’s climate challenge to water challenge facing the country.
He pointed out that climate change is already disrupting how Nigerians access water, sanitation, and hygiene services in the country.
Prof Utsev spoke in Abuja while declaring open the 3rd Annual National Climate Change and WASH Conference.
The conference, which was themed , “Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene on the Frontline of Climate Change: Aligning with National Adaptation Plans”, aimed to place Water, Sanitation and Hygiene at the center of the country’s climate adaptation plan.
According to the Minister, the theme reflects the growing recognition that WASH systems are no longer just basic services, but critical pillars of climate resilience.
He said “Let us be clear: the climate crisis is fundamentally a water crisis, Whether it is floods, prolonged droughts, changing rainfall patterns, or deteriorating water quality, climate change is already disrupting how Nigerians access water, sanitation, and hygiene services.”
Building on the 2025 National Climate Change Conference, the Minister said that this year’s meeting must move “from consultation to scoped recommendations” that are implementable and bankable.
“Today’s conference is not only a conversation platform. It is a platform where we build policies that are implementable,” the Minister stated
He expressed commitment of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation to the integration of climate resilience into all water and WASH delivery.
To this end, Prof Utsev highlighted five priority actions to the participants at the conference.
He called for strengthening of climate-resilient infrastructure to withstand extreme weather and ensure continuous service.
Also, he pushed for improvement of integrated water resources management to safeguard availability under a changing climate.
The Minister charged the participants to expand climate-smart sanitation to protect public health and reduce environmental degradation.
The participants were also told to strengthen early warning, hydrology and climate data in order to support evidence-based decisions, as the Minister added “Data is banking,”
He called for mobilization of climate finance and boosting of community, gender and local ownership, with subnational governments named as “major drivers of implementation.”
The Minister reaffirmed the role of the National Technical Working Group on Climate-Resilient WASH as the coordination platform for progress. Development partners including UNICEF, WaterAid, and NDC 3.0 CFR were acknowledged for technical and financial support.
According to the Minister, the action plan from last year remains relevant, adding but “the burden list has increased.”
Prof Utsev insisted that the conference is expected to produce clear recommendations to strengthen Nigeria’s climate adaptation and WASH agenda, with a focus on ensuring “no community is left behind.”
“Without water security, there can be no climate resilience. Without sanitation, there can be no public health resilience. And without resilient WASH systems, adaptation efforts remain incomplete,” he said
In his welcome address, the Acting Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Ibrahim Ali, said the conference is expected to produce a roadmap to strengthen Nigeria’s climate-resilient WASH systems in line with national adaptation and SDG priorities.
He said that the conference brought together government agencies, development partners, civil society, academia, and practitioners to review progress and set the next steps for climate-resilient WASH delivery.
“Climate change remains one of the defining challenges of our time, and that the water and sanitation sector is at the heart of both the challenge and the solution,” he said
The Permanent Secretary said that the 2025 conference produced recommendations that have guided work over the past one year, focusing on stronger policies, resilient infrastructure design, financing opportunities, and cross-sector coordination.
A key takeaway from last year, he noted, was the need to ensure water is fully integrated into climate planning at both national and subnational levels.
This year’s theme, he said, has positioned the sector strategically within Nigeria’s broader climate response and the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution, NDC 3.0.
“Water is not a standalone issue. It intersects with health, agriculture, food security, ecosystem protection, economic development, disaster risk reduction, and improved productivity,” he stated .
Highlighting increasing pressures on Nigeria’s water systems from flooding, erosion, drought, and scarcity, he said, the impacts require a rethink of planning, stronger infrastructure, improved financing, and locally sustainable, innovative approaches.
According to him, four conference objectives included Review of the implementation of the 2025 communiqué, Strengthen understanding of WASH within SDG 3.0/NDC 3.0, Identify practical solutions for climate-resilient service delivery, and Develop an actionable roadmap for the future.
Commending the multi-sectoral arrangement at the conference, the Acting Permanent Secretary charged participants to ensure discussions translate into actionable outputs.
He expressed appreciation to the Honorable Minister for his leadership on the climate and WASH agenda, also the Department of Hydrology, the National Technical Working Group, development partners, and the local organizing committee.
Delivering goodwill message at the conference, Chika Opara, who represented the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, said that climate-smart WASH systems is critical to meeting the country’s climate targets as climate change is intensifying pressure on Nigeria’s water resources, sanitation infrastructure, ecosystems, food security, and markets.
Frequency and intensity of flood, drought, erosion, desertification, pollution, and other climate-related hazards, he said, has continue to threaten the resilience of communities in the country.
The Minister noted that climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene systems are indispensable to achieving Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions, NDC 3.0 and the national adaptation and Sustainable Development Goals.
“As the lead ministry for environmental governance and climate change coordination, we remain committed to policies and programs that promote environmental sustainability, community resilience, and healthy communities,” he stated
He said his Ministry is working closely with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, development partners, state and local governments to integrate climate-smart WASH solutions into national planning.
Mrs. Amudi Chioma, who represented the Director General of National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), Dr. Barr. Teni Majekodunmi, commended the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation’s Action Plan to turn targets on paper into action.
She described Nigeria’s integration of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene into NDC 3.0 as a “timely and useful” breakthrough.
“The most interesting part of it all is that we did that discussion with the Minister of Water and Sanitation. This is your action plan — the actual activities to make sure that what we have on paper is achieved,” the official said.
Representative of UNICEF at the conference, Obinna Uche, urged Nigerian stakeholders to move beyond policy commitments and fully integrate Water, Sanitation and Hygiene into climate action, adding that WASH delivers direct gains for public health, livelihoods, and gender equity.
Aligning WASH with Nigeria’s climate plans, he said, is about impact, and not compliance.
“By mainstreaming WASH into our NDCs, we are not just ticking a box. We are directly protecting public health, resilient livelihoods of vulnerable populations, and empowering women and girls through safe water and access to sanitation,” he stated.
Other partners also delivered goodwill messages at the conference