Ibadan was once a city where public taps flowed. Today, it is a city of dry pipes, frantic boreholes and buckets.
A political pressure group, “Watchdogs for Good Governance”, on Sunday blew the whistle on what it called the total collapse of public water supply in Oyo State, despite billions of naira voted annually for the water sector in nearly seven and a half years of Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration.
In a strongly-worded statement signed by its Convener, Comrade Ahmed Adeyemo, and made available to newsmen in Ibadan, the group said Oyo residents have been abandoned to provide water for themselves, with grave consequences for public health and the environment.
The group expressed shock that the Makinde administration allegedly converted a strategic State Water Reservoir at Agodi, on Old Ife Road, Ibadan, into a shopping complex – a move it described as “unfortunate, insensitive and a monumental fraud that must be questioned.”
“The conversion of a state water reservoir to a shopping complex is a slap in the face of the good people of Oyo State. Today, lack of clean potable water has forced our people to rely on boreholes. It increases the spread of diseases and inflicts untold hardship,” the statement said.
According to the group, the Oyo State Water Corporation, established in 1977 from the defunct Western Nigeria Water Corporation, had for decades provided potable water for Ibadan and other major towns, until its gradual destruction under the current administration.
“What challenges was the Corporation facing that could not be addressed without destroying existing public infrastructure? Governor Makinde must explain to the people why he chose to sell off their future,” Adeyemo queried.
The Watchdogs challenged the government to publish audited accounts of the water sector, noting that budget records for the past seven years show billions of naira earmarked for water.
“Records are there for sons and daughters of Oyo State to verify. Billions were provided for in the budget for water every year. Where did the money go? Why are taps dry? Why does the Water Corporation exist only on paper?” the group asked.
It warned that the resort to arbitrary and unregulated digging of wells and boreholes by desperate residents poses serious environmental and climatic hazards, including groundwater contamination and land subsidence.
The group contrasted the present situation with previous administrations, which it said invested heavily in water infrastructure.
“Records show that the administrations of Senator Rashidi Ladoja, now His Imperial Majesty the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala and Senator Abiola Ajimobi, embarked on high-profile rehabilitation projects, including the upgrading and expansion of the Asejire and Eleyele Water Treatment Plants, which significantly boosted water production capacity for Ibadan metropolis and environs.
“They built and maintained. This administration destroys and converts. If past governors had sold public infrastructures the way Makinde is doing, what would he have been selling today?” the group said.
“The Seyi Makinde’s administration has not been able to provide water in any part of Oyo State since 2019. It is not peculiar to Ibadan only inspite of the billions of naira claimed to have been budgeted and possibly spent. This is a clear manifestation of corruption by his administration.”
Describing Makinde’s projects as cosmetic, the group accused the administration of lacking understanding of governance and capacity to maintain public infrastructure.
“His lack of understanding of governance led to many cosmetic projects that look good on billboards but add no value to the daily survival of the people. Water is life. You cannot replace water with a shopping complex,” the statement added.
The group vowed that the incoming administration in May 2027 will open the books.
“Makinde should prepare to answer many questions after handing over to a more progressive government in May 2027. No secret will be left unexposed. The people of Oyo State deserve to know why they are drinking borehole water in 2026 after billions budgeted for clean water.”
