The Oyo State Government and five other states have been urged to address the crumbling water utilities in their states to guarantee their citizens enjoy potable water and good health.

This demand was made by a coalition of water justice groups that have released a report titled: ‘Dry Taps: A Damning Verdict on the State of Water Utilities in Nigeria’.

The Executive Director, Renevlyn Development Initiative, Philip Jakpor, in a statement, said “the report details the functionality of challenges of dams and waterworks in Oyo, Lagos, Enugu, Kogi, Edo, and Kano States”.

The fact-finding visits were conducted by seven organisations – Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), the New Life Community Care Initiative (NELCCI), Citizens Free Service Forum (CFSF), the Ecumenical Water Network Africa (EWN-A), Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN), Socio-Economic Research and Development Centre (SERDEC) and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Service Employees (AUPCTRE).

While presenting the report, AUPCTRE General Secretary, Comrade Sikiru Waheed explained that though the scope of the research is limited only to six out of Nigeria’s 36 states, it deliberately captures the situation in at least one state per geographical zone, making it a sneak peek into the overall picture of access to water in the entire federation. The report covers Lagos and Oyo in the Southwest, Enugu in the Southeast, Edo State in the Niger Delta, Kano in the Northwest, as well as Kogi in North Central Nigeria.

He explained that due to manpower and resource challenges the research focused on the water situation in the cities in the conviction that it is a forgone conclusion that the rural communities where 70 percent of Nigeria’s population are found rely only on streams, rivers and in a few cases private water vendors and boreholes to meet their domestic water needs.

Coordinator of EWNA, Reverend Kolade Fadahunsi said that the deplorable state of the Eleyele Water Scheme is frightening and explains why residents depend on unwholesome sources.

He narrated that a disturbing sight in the premises of the water utility is the number of electricity generators near broken down stages used to pump water due to the erratic power supply.

The Eleyele Water Scheme which was established in 1942 has a production capacity of 27 million gallons per day but is only able to produce approximately 10–12 million gallons daily, which is less than half of its original capacity.

Optimal delivery at the facility is hampered by shortage of treatment chemicals like alum, chlorine, and lime in addition to procurement delays. Due to frequent power outages the facility relies heavily on electricity generators.

Executive Director of RDI, Philip Jakpor said: “Now we can lay the blame for the perilous state of water in Nigeria exactly where it belongs. The government at state and federal level have consistently neglected their responsibility of sustainable funding of water to pave the way for privatisation of the utilities”.

Jakpor, whose organisation visited water utilities in Lagos, said that in spite of the abundance of water surrounding Lagos and huge chunks voted for rehabilitation of 48 and mini and micro waterworks in 2018, till date, none of the facilities are operational.

He also revealed that the Adiyan and Iju water works that are still operational only oscillate between 120-210 million gallons per day in terms of water production for use, which is a far cry from the 750 million gallons that Lagosians require daily.

Executive Director of NELCCI, Florence Ifeanyi-Aneke, the Executive Director of SERDEC, Tijani Abdulkareem in Kogi, and the Executive Director of EDEN, Barrister Chima Williams, while presenting findings from Enugu, Kogi, and Edo respectively, said that the situation in the water utilities was demoralizing staff, many of whom are near retirement and there are no plans on ground to replace them.

In Enugu, the report captured the fact that there isinsufficient Investment in expanding the existing water networks which only service 11, 234 customers currently.

In Kogi, the two existing waterworks were damaged during the 2022 floods and are yet to be repaired. In Edo the Ikpoba Dam has become fallow and no longer services the Iyaro and Ugbowo Headworks.

While presenting findings from Kano, Deputy Executive Director of CFSF, Comrade Bomoi Mohammed explained that the two utilities are only able to service 10 per cent of residents of the city due to the state of the Chalawa and Tamburawa waterworks.

To address the situation, they called for the declaration of emergency in the water sector, a probe into billions of naira meant for water schemes that have been diverted, and the commitment of the states and federal government to sustainable public funding of the water utilities.

They also cautioned the states to refuse the allure to embark on the privatization of the water utilities as promoted by the World Bank and donor organisations.