The paper is an exploratory review of Federal Government of Nigeria’s gazettes, agencies reports, intergovernmental documents on water resources policy as primary data source and publications by academia; with the aim to contribute insightfully in the ongoing effort of the government and stakeholders in designing a comprehensive water resources policy. The paper identified contradictions and overlapping statutory responsibility that constituted policy implementation impediments’ and galvanized discourse toward effective implementable policy. A paradigm shift is advocated by making the River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) the center stage of the nation’s water resources policy development and implementation. But considering the underdeveloped status of Nigeria, there are three critical sectors whose effective functionalities are synergistic for accomplishing the RBDAs vision. These are Energy, Food and Public Health. It is imperative to temporarily focus the nation’s water policy on them for a period of at least ten years through enactment of “Dedicated Water Resources Bill”. The Bill should only address (1) institutional framework (2) Energy, Food and Public Health security and (3) Integrated water resources management. Work should continue on the comprehensive Water Resources Bill through the process of consultation that promote inclusion, accountability, transparency, and the needs of the vulnerable.Keywords: Nigeria, Policy, Water resources, RBDAs, Development
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.