• Watchdogs accuse Makinde of killing Water Corporation, converting Agodi reservoir to shopping complex
The political pressure group, Watchdogs for Good Governance, has accused the Oyo State Government of abandoning the state’s public water system despite billions of naira allegedly allocated to the sector over the past seven years.
The group also accused Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration of gradually killing the Oyo State Water Corporation and converting a strategic state water reservoir at Agodi, along Old Ife Road, Ibadan, into a shopping complex.
In a strongly worded statement issued yesterday in Ibadan by its Convener, Comrade Ahmed Adeyemo, the group said residents had been left to provide water for themselves through boreholes and wells, with attendant health and environmental consequences.
It described the alleged conversion of the Agodi water reservoir 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 group said.
According to Watchdogs for Good Governance, the Oyo State Water Corporation, established in 1977 from the defunct Western Nigeria Water Corporation, provided potable water to Ibadan and other major towns for decades before its alleged gradual decline.
The group asked the government to explain the challenges confronting the corporation and why existing public water infrastructure could not be rehabilitated.
“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 said.
The group also challenged the state government to publish audited accounts of expenditure on the water sector, alleging that budgetary provisions running into billions of naira had been made for water projects over the years.
“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.
The group further warned against the increasing resort to indiscriminate digging of wells and boreholes by residents desperate for water.
It said uncontrolled groundwater extraction could create environmental and climatic problems, including groundwater contamination and land subsidence.
Watchdogs for Good Governance contrasted the situation with previous administrations, which it said invested heavily in the state’s water infrastructure.
It specifically cited the administrations of Senator Rashidi Ladoja, now the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala and Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
According to the group, the three administrations embarked on rehabilitation and expansion of major water facilities, including the Asejire and Eleyele water treatment plants, thereby increasing water production capacity for Ibadan and adjoining communities.
“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 asked.
The group alleged that the Makinde administration had failed to provide public water supply in any part of Oyo State since 2019, insisting that the crisis was not limited to Ibadan.
“The Seyi Makinde administration has not been able to provide water in any part of Oyo State since 2019. It is not peculiar to Ibadan only, in spite of the billions of naira claimed to have been budgeted and possibly spent.
“This is a clear manifestation of corruption by his administration,” it alleged.
The group also criticised what it described as “cosmetic projects” by the administration, arguing that government should prioritise infrastructure capable of improving residents’ daily lives.
“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,” it said.
However, official records from the Oyo State Government indicate that the administration has undertaken or announced several interventions in the water sector.
The government has reported rehabilitation work on water pipelines in parts of Ibadan, as well as interventions involving the Eleyele and Asejire water facilities. It has also reported the rehabilitation of Eleyele Dam with technical support from the World Bank and the resuscitation of the Osupa water reservoir in Ogbomoso.
The group, however, maintained that such interventions had not translated into regular public water supply for many residents across the state.
It consequently called for greater transparency in the management of funds allocated to the sector and vowed to continue pressing for accountability.
The group said the next administration would be expected to examine the state’s records on expenditure and projects in the water sector.
“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,” it said.
