FG Partners Six Universities On Human Capacity Development In Water Sector

Mrs Sarah Reng Ochekpe
The Federal Government has expressed its
determination to continue to partner with
institutions of higher learning in the country to
enhance human capacity development in the
water sector.

This is sequel
to the
establishment of water resources capacity
building centre�s in six of the Nigerian
universities, under the National Water Resources
Capacity Building Network programme
(NWRCBNet), where the concerned institutions
will offer courses in postgraduate studies in water
related courses.

While receiving the Vice Chancellors of the six
universities and the management of the National
Water Resources Institute, Kaduna, in her office in
Abuja, the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs
Sarah Reng Ochekpe, challenged the universities
to further promote water education in order to
strengthen the capacity of the sector, adding that
water is important to life, hence the need to pay
closer attention to develop the sector.

Ochekpe asked the implementors of the network
to inspire young people to take interest in water
related issues, and that it was in realization of
their critical role to the sector that the Ministry of
Water Resources, along with the National Water
Resources Institute, introduced �Junior Water
Prize� competition last year, to enable young
people participate in an essay writing with focus
on water related issues.

The minister enjoined the six universities to
engage other universities to set up programme in
water studies, as part of the efforts to develop the
sector with the necessary skills. Earlier, the
Executive Director of the National Water
Resources Institute (NWRI), Kaduna, Dr Olusanjo
Bamgboye, who led the delegation of the Vice
Chancellors to the minister, said that the institute
had supported the National Water Resources
Capacity Building Network (NWRBCNet) with a
seed fund of 12million naira for the six universities
with each of them receiving 2million naira.
[Vanguard]