The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA has raised serious concerns about the efficacy of World Bank-supported privatisation reforms intended to improve access to potable water in Nigeria.
CAPPA made this known while presenting a report titled; “Big Debt, Big Thirst: A Case Study of World Bank Supported Projects in Ekiti, Rivers, and Bauchi States”, which provides a damning assessment of the National Urban Water Sector Reform Project (NUWSRP3), a World Bank initiative that concluded in 2020.
Despite substantial financial investments and promises of improved access to water, CAPPA’s findings reveal that millions of Nigerians in the target states remain without reliable water access.
The NUWSRP3 was designed with a 250 million dollar loan from the International Development Association, part of the World Bank, and aimed to modernize water systems in Ekiti, Rivers, and Bauchi States by transforming public water boards into corporatized entities.
Under the project, Ekiti State received 50 million dollars, Bauchi 65 million dollars, and Rivers 80 million dollars. CAPPA’s report evaluates the impact of this financial injection, questioning whether these funds have resulted in the promised improvements in water access, and it raises red flags about the conditions attached to these loans.
According to CAPPA’s Programme Officer on Water Campaign, Sefa Ikpa, the report primarily seeks to answer a fundamental question: Has the World Bank’s investment translated into tangible improvements in water access for local communities?
“The World Bank’s vision for water reform involved privatization—transforming public water boards into profit-driven corporations. These conditions included tariff hikes, cost recovery mechanisms, and other commercial measures that raised serious concerns about public control over water. Our research has shown that this approach has not improved access to water for ordinary citizens. In fact, it has worsened the situation,” Ikpa said during the media presentation of the report.
In Ekiti State, where CAPPA conducted an in-depth analysis, the situation is particularly troubling. Although significant investments were made in critical infrastructure, including the Ero and Ureje dams, many residents in areas like Iworoko and Olorunsogo, located in the capital city Ado Ekiti, continue to face water deprivation.
Despite paying significant fees ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 naira for prepaid meters and connections to central water points, they report that the taps remain dry. Some residents have pointed to the 1990s as the last time they had reliable water supply, during a period when water utilities were publicly managed.
Similarly, Bauchi State, which received substantial funding under the World Bank project, has seen little improvement. Chronic water scarcity persists, with many areas unable to access even the most basic water services. The situation is exacerbated by persistent electricity shortages, which further undermine water supply infrastructure. “We’ve seen that electricity shortages continue to undermine the potential of these water systems,” Igbea explained. “Without consistent power, water pumps and treatment plants simply cannot function.”
In Rivers State, the impact of the reform is equally disheartening. Although the NUWSRP3 initially sought to improve water supply for over 1.5 million people in Port Harcourt’s Obio-Akpor area, the project faced multiple challenges. Poor coordination between the World Bank and the African Development Bank, compounded by delays in procurement, led to the World Bank withdrawing its support midway through the project.
These complications resulted in stalled infrastructure projects and an overall lack of tangible progress for the local population. As with the other states, residents continue to experience severe water shortages despite promises of improvement.
The commercial conditions attached to the World Bank’s loans have drawn significant criticism. CAPPA’s research highlights how the transformation of public water boards into corporatized entities, which were supposed to operate as profit-making businesses, has created barriers for ordinary citizens. “These commercial models are built on the assumption that market forces will drive efficiency, but that hasn’t been the case. Instead, it’s led to increased tariffs and reduced service quality,” said Ikpa. “People are now paying more for less water, and the water they do get is often unreliable.”
Furthermore, the report emphasizes that these privatization reforms have led to increased public debt. The loans, which are denominated in foreign currency, create long-term debt obligations for the states, which will be paid back over the next 40 years. Ikpa noted that the increased financial burden on states means that funds are diverted away from other essential services, exacerbating the economic hardship faced by many Nigerians.
CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, highlighted the broader implications of the report. “This report provides critical evidence that the World Bank’s water reforms are not working. The narrative that privatization is the answer to water scarcity simply does not hold up in practice. We’ve seen the failures of this approach in the electricity sector, and now we’re seeing the same pattern with water,” Oluwafemi said during the media presentation. He called on the Nigerian government to reject privatization models and instead invest in the public water sector to ensure that water remains a public good, not a market commodity.
The CAPPA report advocates for a fundamental shift in how Nigeria approaches its water crisis. It calls for the Nigerian government to declare a state of emergency in the water sector and to reject the neoliberal policies that have driven the privatisation of essential services. The report further stresses the importance of public investment in water infrastructure, emphasizing the need for increased budget allocations to the sector and a commitment to transparent governance.
“Water is a basic human right. The Nigerian government cannot afford to outsource it to private companies whose primary concern is profit, not the welfare of citizens,” Oluwafemi said. He also recommended that the government explore public funding mechanisms, such as using revenues from natural resources, to finance water infrastructure projects and ensure long-term sustainability.
The report concludes with a strong call for rethinking the current water governance model in Nigeria. It argues that the privatisation of water systems has been proven ineffective, both in Nigeria and around the world, and urges the government to place water back in the hands of the people through public ownership and democratic control.
As the water crisis in Nigeria continues to deepen, CAPPA’s report serves as a critical reminder that access to water is not only a matter of infrastructure, but of public policy and human rights. The findings call for urgent action to safeguard water as a public good and to ensure that all Nigerians have the right to clean, affordable, and reliable water.