ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Governor of Lagos State Babajide Sanwo-Olu has appealed for sustainable private and philanthropic financing to address the state’s inadequate water infrastructure.
He made the appeal at a United Nations climate change conference-side event in Dubai on Friday.
The Governor revealed Lagos with over 22 million residents, only gets 210 million gallons of its 700 million daily potable water needs.
“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 the public is high,” he noted.
Governor Sanwo-Olu stated that Lagos requires less than 1 per cent of the global $1.7 trillion clean water investment gap.
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“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 added.
He said irregular electricity also slows installed capacity utilisation below 40 per cent and wants equity in channelling climate financing to cities like Lagos, where large youth populations are ripe for such impact funding, according to Punch.
“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 channelling resources, equity has to be a major focus of the global response,” he affirmed.
The theme, “Valuing Water: A Lifeline in Climate Transition”, is organised by Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum and Sustainable Market Initiative at the ongoing 28th session of the Conference of Parties (COP28) at Dubai Exhibition Centre.
The Valuing Water roundtable at the COP28 climate talks had anti-poverty groups and corporations stress increased investments in clean water projects globally.