The Nigeria Integrated Water Resources Management Commission (NIWRMC) says it will digitise water use licensing and monitoring as part of reforms introduced within the first 100 days of its executive director, Aminu Zaria.

Mr Zaria disclosed this on Monday in Abuja while briefing journalists on achievements recorded within his first 100 days in office.

He said the milestone reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s water resources, strengthening national water security, and advancing President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Mr Zaria said the commission would deploy a National Water Use Licensing Digital Portal to improve transparency and licensing efficiency.

He added that monitoring networks would be expanded across catchments and a national real-time water data observatory would be established.

Mr Zaria described NIWRMC as Nigeria’s water regulatory authority established under the Water Resources Act to promote equitable, economically, and environmentally sustainable water resources management.

He said NIWRMC’s mandate includes defining water footprint standards, regulating water resources development, and planning water resources management nationwide.

Mr Zaria added that operational responsibilities cover water abstraction licensing, allocation planning, monitoring and enforcement, catchment management, aquifer protection, regulatory compliance, and conflict resolution.

Mr Zaria said the commission inherited challenges, including deteriorated headquarters facilities, inadequate staffing, fragmented data systems, manual licensing processes, and weak enforcement capacity.

He said other challenges included dormant catchment offices, limited inter-agency collaboration, low public awareness, poor staff morale, and critical funding constraints.

“These challenges threatened effective delivery of our mandate amid Nigeria’s growing water demand,” Mr Zaria said.

He said reforms were immediately initiated with ministerial support to restore order, strengthen systems, empower staff, and rebuild public confidence.

Mr Zaria said actions taken included staff town hall engagements, inauguration of a think tank team, and revival of field and catchment offices nationwide.

He said the commission introduced the Professionalism, Adeptness, Consistency, and Excellence (PACE) Agenda to improve service delivery and institutional culture.

Mr Zaria said partnerships with key stakeholders were strengthened for collaboration, capacity building, and data sharing.

He disclosed that NIWRMC signed an MoU with the Kano State Water Board to strengthen water governance at the subnational level.

Mr Zaria added that salaries of security and janitorial personnel were reviewed to improve staff welfare and morale.

He said reforms led to improved data availability, enhanced visibility, revived catchment operations, increased staff efficiency, and stronger inter-agency synergy.

“Our goal is to secure Nigeria’s water future and ensure every drop is sustainably managed for generations,” Mr Zaria said.

Mr Zaria reaffirmed his commitment to leading an accountable, innovative, and future-ready commission aligned with national development priorities.

(NAN)