By Obiabin Onukwugha and Abbas Nazil
As citizens across Nigerian states groan under a bitting scarcity of portable drinking water, NatureNews investigation has exposed a source of the lingering crisis.
Findings indicate that while economic inflation rate in Nigeria is between 15% to 20%, many low income earners have had to grapple with sharing their meagre income between buying water from water vendors, and feeding their families.
This is as house rents continue to skyrocket in the state capitals and major cities across the country.
In 2016, the World Bank and the African Development Bank, AfDB, announced the provision of funds aimed at improving water supply for over 1.5 million people in Port Harcourt.and Obio-Akpor local government areas of the state.
The projects awarded under the Urban Water Reform and Port Harcourt Water Supply and Sanitation Project during the administration of Governor Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, was said to have been valued at approximately $328 million.
Available data revealed that under the arrangement, the project is to be financed by the AfDB, $200 million, the World Bank, $80 million and Rivers Government, $48 million.
However, 10 years later, the oil-rich capital of River State has remained without pipe borne water supply to the people.
Worst hit are residential areas occupied by low income earners such as Diobu, in Obio/Akpor local government area, and the Port Harcourt old township.
Eruni Itotenaan, a widow with four children and resident of Borokiri Sandfilled in the old Port Harcourt township lamented how the lack of public water is impacting on her family finances.
“We don’t have water here. There are no boreholes because they said the water is too salty, so we depend on mai ruwa (water vendors), who go to fetch water from Navy and other areas.
“We buy one truck of water for N2,000 when there is light and N2,500 or N3,000 when there is no light. It is not easy for a widow like me with four children and without a viable source of income,” she said.
Mrs Itotenaan told our reporter that she and her children most times use the salt water from the river for some house chores.
“My apartment is by the river bank as you can see. When the tide is full, my son fetches from it so that we can use it to wash plates, flush and wash our toilet and clothes.
“There are times that my children and I have gone to bed hungry because we don’t have money to buy water for cooking,” she lamented.
Another resident of Enugu waterside also in the old township area, and mother of two, who gave her name as Lady Joy, said they depend on dug-in wells most of the time for water.
“We depend on well water for our daily use here. Because of the steps mai ruwa finds it difficult accessing this place. The community dug some wells where we buy the water at the rate of fifty naira per bucket. Our problem is drinking water because the water is not drinkable so we depend on pure water,”.
Lady Joy, a hair stylist further said: “Now that a satchet of pure water is sold at N50, it is telling on my income, especially because of the heat. We use to drink a lot of water because of the excess heat.”
It would be recalled that the Rivers State water project suffered from poor coordination between the AfDB, World Bank and the Rivers State government, thereby prompting the World Bank to announce its withdrawal in March 2025.
Available data showed that in 2017, the Rivers State government budgeted ₦125.630 billion as capital expenditure allocation for the social sector, which included water and sanitation. However, there was no details of the actual allocation to the water sector from this figure.
It was also observed that there was digging and laying of pipes in different sections of Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor local government areas, with the installation of overhead tanks. Despite these efforts, homes have remained without water flow.
During a visit to the waterboard station at Borokiri, it was observed that the front area of the facility is now being used as a carpark for buses, with one man suspected to be a security personnel sitting by the entrance gate.
A 2025 report by the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), revealed that the World Bank-supported $250 million Third National Urban Water Sector Reform Project (NUWSRP3) failed to deliver potable water in Rivers State.
The report, titled “Big Debt, Big Thirst: A Case Study of World Bank Supported Projects in Ekiti, Rivers and Bauchi States,” and presented by CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, attributed the failure of the projects to procurement challenges and poor coordination between the two financial institutions.
An inside source from the Port Harcourt Water Corporation (PHWC), who spoke under the condition of anonymity because he does not have the authority to speak, told NatureNews reporter that the project is still on course.
“World Bank was part of the project from inception but they pulled and AfDB continued to date. The water will soon start flowing. We are commencing operations very soon. We already have meters that have arrived for household connections to begin,” the source stated.
In Kogi State, the story is not different. Residents of Kogi Central are grappling with severe water scarcity despite the presence of multiple natural water bodies across the region.
The situation has sparked renewed concern among citizens and stakeholders who question why access to clean and potable water remains a daily struggle.
A content creator, Fatai Jimoh, recently raised alarm over the worsening condition in Kogi Central, lamenting the prolonged absence of functional public water supply systems.
He noted that past administrations had reportedly awarded contracts for water projects intended to address the crisis, but alleged that funds meant for execution were diverted, leaving the projects either abandoned or non-functional.
According to him, “the Okene Water Works, once expected to serve as a major source of potable water for the area, is currently not operational, forcing residents to rely on unsafe and unreliable alternatives.”
The development, he said, has placed an increasing burden on households, with many trekking long distances on daily basis in search of water for basic needs.
Further highlighting the gravity of the situation, a civic group known as Ebira Peacemaker, conducted an on-site assessment in Okunchi Ward, where they observed residents sourcing water from a seepage point.
The group described the condition as “alarming”, noting that “the water source is not only inadequate but also poses potential health risks to the community.”
Residents expressed frustration over what they described as years of neglect and unfulfilled promises by authorities, calling for urgent intervention to restore water infrastructure and ensure access to clean water.
The ongoing scarcity underscores broader concerns about governance, accountability, and the management of public resources in Kogi State.
Despite huge allocations to the water sector by successive governments, water availability has remained elusive for residents of Kogi Central.
Available data showed that in 2022, the government of former governor Yahaya Bello budgeted N100million for the water sector. Also, the current administration under Governor Ahmed Ododo in 2025 budgeted N84,7billion to the water sector.
Observers warn that without immediate action, the crisis could escalate, leading to increased health challenges and further hardship for affected communities.
