By Tosin Kolade
The Development Partner Group (DPG) has called for reforms to strengthen Nigeria’s urban water supply sector, citing the need for improved governance, stronger financing mechanisms and more efficient infrastructure planning to enhance service delivery and sustainability.
It noted that addressing structural and operational constraints in the sector remains critical to expanding access to safe and reliable water services in urban areas.
A representative of the group, Ms Judith Warmate said this on the sidelines of the Urban Water Supply Sector Report in Nigeria: Progress, Challenges and the Way Forward workshop, held in Abuja on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was organised by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation in partnership with the development partners.
It aimed to clarify challenges in urban water reforms, identify replicable success factors, and draw lessons from local and international experiences.
She said key interventions include the Kaduna State Water Supply Project and the Anambra Water Supply and Sanitation Project, where the Bank contributed about 67 million dollars, alongside 55 million dollars from the Anambra State Government and 5.5 million dollars from the implementing corporation.
According to her, earlier interventions include the National Water Rehabilitation Project (1992–2001), covering 21 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, followed by the Multi-State Water Supply Project in states such as Taraba and Katsina.
Warmate said the sector later shifted to reform-focused programmes, including Urban Water Sector Reform Projects I, II and III, which formed the basis for the Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (SURWASH) Programme.
She explained that SURWASH is a results-based financing programme under the Program-for-Results (PforR) instrument, where disbursement is tied to independently verified performance outcomes rather than inputs.
She disclosed that cumulative World Bank financing in the subsector is estimated at about 1.27 billion dollars, while SURWASH funding was revised from about 700 million dollars to 410 million dollars due to non-performance concerns.
Warmate said in spite of investments, the sector still faces structural challenges, including political control over tariffs, staffing, and utility governance, weak cost recovery, and high non-revenue water.
She said at best, Kaduna State recovered about 40 per cent of operation and maintenance costs, while most utilities remain far below sustainable levels.
She added that power supply constraints, reliance on generators, weak metering systems, poor demand estimation, and overdesigned infrastructure continue to affect service delivery and sustainability.
Warmate said political economy constraints, weak institutional capacity, poor maintenance culture, and reliance on individual reform champions continue to undermine long-term reforms.
She added that reforms often lose momentum when key champions exit due to weak institutional embedding.
Albeit these challenges, she said earlier reform programmes improved water connections and collections in some states and placed sector reform on the national agenda.
Warmate said SURWASH is shifting focus towards results-based financing, linking disbursement to independently verified service delivery outcomes, while combining PforR and Investment Project Financing to strengthen systems.
“The programme also integrates water, sanitation and hygiene interventions at local government level to improve coordination, accountability, and sustainability”.
She added that capacity-building cohorts in Katsina and Gombe States are in their third cycle, focusing on utility creditworthiness, financial management, and business planning, with regulators also involved.
She said the programme has expanded to additional states, including Lagos, in collaboration with development partners such as WaterAid.
In a related contribution, the French Development Agency (AFD) said Nigeria’s water challenge is not funding but weak system sustainability and limited utility autonomy.
AFD Deputy Director in Abuja, Mr Mahamadou Diarra, said Africa has abundant water resources but struggles to convert them into reliable potable water services due to weak systems.
He said funding from development partners has been substantial, but sustainability and effective utilisation remain major gaps.
Diarra said functional water systems must integrate production, distribution, billing, and revenue collection, noting that service reliability is key to cost recovery.
He added that most utilities depend heavily on state governments, while stronger political commitment has consistently improved service delivery in better-performing states.
Also speaking, AFD Deputy Head of Water and Sanitation Division, Ms Madeleine Portmann, said long-standing technical recommendations in Nigeria’s water sector have not been fully implemented.
She said in Kano State, earlier identified infrastructure interventions were only partially executed, adding that many recommendations made decades ago remain outstanding.
Portmann said AFD’s experience in Nigeria over 12 years shows persistent implementation gaps, despite strong technical designs.
She reaffirmed AFD’s commitment to supporting reforms that strengthen institutions and ensure sustainable water service delivery.
NAN reports that the Development Partner Group are the Agence Française de Développement, World Bank, African Development Bank, UNICEF, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, WaterAid, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and others.
The group supports Nigeria’s water and sanitation sector through financing, technical assistance and policy collaboration aimed at improving service delivery and expanding access to safe water and sanitation services. (NAN)
Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi
