Picture 2: (L – R) Tunji Oladipo, HSE Manager, Reckitt Benckiser; Edidiong Peters, Public Affairs Specialist, Nestlé Nigeria PLC; Raphael Fisher, Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Manager, Nestlé Nigeria PLC; Gloria Nwabuike, Category and Marketing Manager, Nestlé Waters; Olagbende Sunday, Quality Assurance Supervisor, Beta Glass; Evelyn Dike, Agbara Factory SHE & Water Resources Manager, Nestlé Nigeria PLC.
As the world celebrates World Water Day, Ogun State Ministry of Environment and Nestlé
Nigeria have jointly hosted a stakeholders’ forum to address the Water Sustainability
challenges in Ogun state.
World Water Day, held on 22 March every year since 1993, focuses on the importance of
freshwater. World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness for the 2.2 billion
people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global
water crisis. The theme for this years’ event is “Groundwater: making the invisible
visible’.
Groundwater constitutes an important source of water for domestic supply and agriculture
in Nigeria. Domestic consumption and industrial needs place a huge burden on this
valuable yet limited resource. Access to clean water and improved sanitation facilities is
a daily challenge for many Nigerians, as 60 million Nigerians, or 33 percent of the
population, do not have access to clean water. This contributes to high prevalence of
waterborne diseases and impacts education, health and the national economy.
In her comments at the event, the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Engr. Noimot SalakoOyedele, ably represented by Honorable Kola Salako, Senior Special Assistant to the
Governor said, “World Water Day is a day in which the future of one of the most essential
natural resources is explicitly reviewed for the good of the generations to come.
“Water is vital for survival. It is the life blood of human existence and our economy, hence, proper
management of this resource is crucial. I encourage all stakeholders in the water sector
to cooperate with the Ministry for appropriate and sustainable management of water
resources in the state”.
On his part, the Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Ministry of Environment, Engr. Razak
Ojetola, commended Nestlé Nigeria for collaborating with the Ministry on the maiden
World Water Day celebration in the State and for the strides of the company around water sustainability.
He emphasized the commitment of the Prince Dapo Abiodun led administration to the actualization of access to clean water and sanitation for all in line with Sustainable Development Goal 6 and the sustainability of groundwater resources which is reflected in the establishment of the Ogun State Water Supply (Ground Water Quality Control) Regulations 2017.
In a statement at the forum, Wassim Elhusseini, MD/CEO Nestlé Nigeria PLC represented
by Category and Marketing Manager Nestlé Waters, Gloria Nwabuike, said, “Water is a
shared and precious resource that we need to manage sustainably and conserve for
everyone, today and for generations to come.
The sustainability of shared water resourcesd depends on all water users working together locally to address the shared water challenges, be it scarcity, quality or access. At”Nestlé, we are committed to responsible water resource management as we rely on water throughout our supply chains and operations. We therefore recognize our role in helping to ensure access to safe water and
- sanitation in communities near our operations and will continue to invest in responsible
water stewardship in our factories.
“Our approach to sustainable water management is in line with the globally recognized Water Stewardship framework – ‘the AWS standard’
ensuring water-related best practices in our operations. We have committed to certify all
our water sites to the AWS standard. Our Agbara site attained this status in 2021 and our
Abaji factory will be certified in 2022”.
“Our partnership with the Ogun State Ministry of Environment for this years’ celebration
is in line with our commitment to work together with local and global stakeholders to
address shared watershed challenges”, he added.
This year’s theme, “Groundwater: making the invisible visible’, draws attention to the
hidden water resource that has always been critically important. Groundwater is invisible,
but its impact is visible everywhere.
The event also included a panel session particularly focused on Water Sustainability and
Conservation in Agbara, with panelists from the private sector companies in Agbara
including Nestlé Nigeria PLC, Reckitt Benckiser and Beta Glass as well as the public sector
– Ogun State Ministry of Environment.
This year’s campaign explains groundwater’s vital role in water and sanitation systems,
agriculture, industry, ecosystems and climate change adaptation. Also, the rapid
population growth especially of urban areas comes not only with planning and
infrastructure challenges such as water supply and waste disposal, but also heavy reliance
on groundwater.
It is therefore imperative that groundwater governance becomes a focus for all stakeholders
(government, private sector, NGOs) with all working together to sustainably manage this
precious resource.
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