By Anita Dennis
Nigeria is moving to overhaul its fragmented water-sector policies and interventions through a proposed National Water Compact, with the federal government seeking stronger commitments from state governments to turn long-standing plans into investment, reform and measurable improvements in water services.
The initiative comes amid growing concerns over access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, as population growth, rapid urbanisation, climate change and weak institutional coordination place increasing pressure on the country’s water infrastructure.
At a nationwide stakeholders’ consultation in Abuja last Thursday, the Acting Country Director of the World Bank, Mr. Taimur Samad, said Nigeria’s challenge was not a shortage of policies, plans or roadmaps, but the absence of a unified platform capable of converting those commitments into sustained action.
“There is no want of plans, agendas, roadmaps,” Mr. Samad said, urging stakeholders to bring existing commitments under “a single unified platform” capable of changing the approach to water-sector development.
He said state governments must assume a leading role because water supply and sanitation services are largely delivered at the sub-national level.
According to him, the states will need to make difficult decisions around investment, reforms and prioritisation if Nigeria is to improve water and sanitation outcomes.
Mr. Samad also challenged governments to confront the economics of water provision, warning that public funding alone would not be sufficient to address the country’s infrastructure and service-delivery needs.
“Public financing will not be enough,” he said, stressing the need for sustainable revenue systems that can finance both new infrastructure and the long-term operation and maintenance of existing facilities.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, said the proposed Compact was being developed following the adoption of the African Union’s Africa Water Vision and Policy 2025–2063.
Nigeria, he explained, is domesticating the continental framework while adapting it to national development priorities.
The first draft has already been prepared by a National Technical Working Committee comprising representatives of federal and state governments, development partners, academia, professional bodies, civil society and the private sector.
Prof. Utsev, however, acknowledged that the framework would have little impact without state ownership.
He said the Ministry had written to the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to secure early political commitment from the 36 state governors and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has also been briefed on progress in developing the Compact, according to the minister.
The objective is to ensure that the initiative does not become another policy document without corresponding implementation.
“It is a national commitment to transform Nigeria’s water future,” Prof. Utsev said.
The proposed framework is built around three broad pillars: Water for People, Water for Food Security and Water for Planet.
The structure is intended to bring domestic water supply, sanitation, agriculture, environmental protection and climate resilience into a coordinated national framework.
For the health sector, the proposed Compact is also being viewed as a disease-prevention strategy.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said investment in water and sanitation should be regarded as an investment in public health rather than merely infrastructure development.
He warned that inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene services continued to expose communities to preventable diseases while undermining nutrition, productivity and general well-being.
Reliable water and sanitation, he added, are particularly important in healthcare facilities, where they are essential for hygiene, infection prevention, cleaning and safe delivery of medical services.
Dr. Salako said the health sector would advocate clear accountability mechanisms in the final Compact, including measurable performance indicators, sustainable financing and effective monitoring.
He also called for guaranteed access to safe water in homes, schools, communities and public institutions, alongside stronger WASH services in healthcare facilities.
Climate resilience, he said, must form part of the framework to strengthen Nigeria’s preparedness for floods, droughts and other water-related emergencies.
The Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engr. Ali Ibrahim Dallah, said the consultation was designed to test whether the proposed framework could be translated into practical action across Nigeria’s diverse states and communities.
He said states and other stakeholders were being given the opportunity to identify gaps, recommend strategic actions and assess the practicality of the draft Compact.
Development partners also stressed that the initiative should be judged by implementation rather than the quality of the final document.
Speaking on behalf of the WASH Development Partners Group, Emily Kilongi said state ownership would be essential to ensuring that national ambitions reflected local priorities, institutional capacity and realities.
She called for clear commitments, measurable outcomes, mutual accountability and regular reporting, noting that financing alone could not guarantee sustainable service delivery without strong institutions and reliable data.
The emerging Compact is therefore being positioned as more than another long-term policy document. It could become an accountability framework requiring federal and state governments to make concrete decisions on investment, infrastructure maintenance, financing, institutional reform and private-sector participation.
This is particularly important because Nigeria already has several water-sector plans and strategies. The challenge has historically been less about identifying what needs to be done and more about sustaining the institutions, financing and political commitment required to deliver it.
The World Bank’s warning that public financing will not be enough also points to a fundamental shift in thinking. Nigeria may need to develop sustainable revenue models that can support water infrastructure throughout its economic life rather than relying repeatedly on government appropriations whenever systems deteriorate.
