…Watchdogs Accuses Makinde Administration of Neglecting Water Corporation, Questions Agodi Property Conversion
A political pressure group, Watchdogs for Good Governance, has raised concerns over what it described as the persistent deterioration of public water supply in Oyo State, despite substantial budgetary allocations to the water sector in recent years.
The group, in a statement signed by its Convener, Comrade Ahmed Adeyemo, and made available to journalists in Ibadan on Sunday, called on the Oyo State Government to account publicly for funds allocated to water infrastructure and explain the current condition of the state’s public water supply system.
The group lamented that many residents of Ibadan and other parts of the state have increasingly had to depend on privately drilled boreholes and wells for domestic water, with attendant concerns about affordability, water quality and environmental sustainability.
It particularly questioned what it described as the alleged conversion of a state water reservoir at Agodi, along Old Ife Road, Ibadan, into a shopping complex.
The group described the alleged conversion as inappropriate for a state facing persistent challenges in providing potable water and urged the government to clarify the status, ownership and approved purpose of the property.
“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.
The Watchdogs challenged the state government to publish detailed expenditure records showing how funds appropriated to the water sector have been utilised since the beginning of the present administration.
The group argued that residents should be able to determine what was budgeted, what was released, what was spent and the specific projects executed with the funds.
“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?” it asked.
Available official records confirm that water has continued to feature in Oyo State’s budgets. For instance, the state’s 2025 budget document lists ₦5.09 billion as the approved budget for the Water Corporation of Oyo State, while the state’s budget ministry also published an approved 2026 budget and subsequent budget-performance reports.
However, budgetary provision does not by itself establish that the entire amount was released or spent, or that expenditure was ineffective. Those questions would require examination of budget-performance and expenditure records.
The allegation that the Water Corporation exists “only on paper” also contrasts with the corporation’s current official position.
The Water Corporation of Oyo State (WCOS) describes itself as a state-owned public utility responsible for water supply in urban areas and says it evolved from the former Western Nigeria Water Corporation under the 1977 legislation.
The corporation’s official website also lists ongoing and recent interventions, including the resuscitation of the Osupa Water Reservoir in Ogbomoso, which it said was supplying about 400,000 gallons daily following rehabilitation, as well as efforts to connect potable water to the Ladoke Akintola International Airport and reconnect the Agodi Correctional Centre.
The corporation’s published records further show water-supply schemes serving several parts of the state, including Asejire, Eleyele, Ogbomoso, Oyo, Eruwa, Saki, Iseyin, Kisi, Igbeti, Igboho and Ago-Amodu.
These official records do not, however, resolve the broader question of whether public water supply has improved sufficiently across Oyo State or whether existing facilities are operating at their intended capacity.
The Watchdogs also warned about the environmental consequences of uncontrolled dependence on boreholes and privately dug wells.
According to the group, the increasing resort to underground water sources by households and businesses could create environmental and public-health challenges if drilling and water extraction are inadequately regulated.
It called for a comprehensive assessment of groundwater exploitation across the state and urged the government to strengthen monitoring of water quality and underground water resources.
The group contrasted the present situation with previous administrations, which it said undertook rehabilitation and expansion of major water infrastructure in the state.
It specifically cited the administrations of Senator Rashidi Ladoja, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala and Senator Abiola Ajimobi, claiming that they invested in projects involving major water facilities, including the Asejire and Eleyele schemes.
“They built and maintained. This administration destroys and converts. If past governors had sold public infrastructure the way Makinde is doing, what would he have been selling today?” the group asked.
Those assertions are political claims by the organisation and would require project-by-project records to independently establish the extent of investment, maintenance and current performance under each administration.
The group accused the Makinde administration of prioritising what it described as cosmetic projects over basic services, arguing that access to potable water should be treated as a fundamental public-service responsibility.
“Water is life. You cannot replace water with a shopping complex,” the statement added.
The group further alleged that public water supply had remained inadequate across the state since 2019 and questioned the relationship between government expenditure on the sector and the experience of residents.
It called for greater transparency, publication of water-sector expenditure and a comprehensive audit of major water projects undertaken during the current administration.
The Watchdogs said it would continue to demand accountability from the government, insisting that residents have a right to know how public funds allocated to the water sector have been utilised.
“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,” the group said.
The controversy places the spotlight on a fundamental governance question: whether budgetary allocations to water are translating into reliable, accessible and safe public water supply for ordinary residents. While the government’s official records show that the Water Corporation remains operational and that several rehabilitation and connection projects have been undertaken, the Watchdogs is demanding a fuller public accounting of expenditure, project outcomes and the condition of water infrastructure across the state.
Oyo Water Crisis: Billions Budgeted, Yet Taps Remain Dry — Group Demands Accountability
