The Federal Government has called for a renewed national commitment to protecting rivers, streams and other freshwater bodies from pollution and degradation, warning that the survival of communities, agriculture and ecosystems depends on healthy water resources.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, made the call on Monday, September 28, in Abuja at a press conference organised by the ministry to mark the 2026 World Rivers Day.
The 2026 World Rivers Day, with the theme, “No Forests, No Rivers, No Water, No Life,” highlights the critical connection between forests, healthy rivers and the availability of safe and sustainable water.
Prof. Utsev said Nigeria’s rivers were more than waterways, describing them as the lifeblood of communities and ecosystems. According to the minister, rivers support agriculture and food production, provide water for domestic and industrial purposes, sustain fisheries and biodiversity, create livelihoods, and contribute significantly to national economic development.
He, however, expressed concern that Nigeria’s water resources were facing increasing threats from population growth, indiscriminate dumping of solid waste, plastic pollution, climate change, changing rainfall patterns, flooding, drought and other harmful human activities.
The minister stressed that protecting the country’s freshwater bodies could no longer be treated as the responsibility of government alone. He called for stronger collaboration among the three tiers of government, traditional institutions, the private sector, development partners, civil society organisations, religious leaders, the media and citizens to protect watersheds, river catchments and other water ecosystems.
Prof. Utsev said the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation was strengthening integrated water resources management and working with relevant agencies to protect and restore watersheds and river catchments across the country.
He also linked sanitation directly to the protection of rivers, noting that the Federal Government’s Clean Nigeria Campaign had so far certified 179 local government areas as open-defecation-free, while more than 5,238 public sanitation facilities had been supported nationwide.
According to the minister, keeping human waste out of drains, streams and rivers represents an important step towards achieving safely managed sanitation and hygiene in line with Sustainable Development Goal Six.
The minister urged Nigerians, particularly youths, traditional and religious leaders, the media and development partners, to take ownership of the campaign against plastic pollution, open defecation and other practices that threaten freshwater resources.
He said protecting rivers today was an investment in the country’s future, stressing that degraded water bodies would ultimately threaten public health, food security, livelihoods and economic development.
The 2026 World Rivers Day activities included a symbolic cleaning exercise at the Wupa River in Abuja and tree planting led by the Acting Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Engr. Ali Ibrahim Dallah.
