Administrative delays, inefficiencies cripple Abuja water system

Amid worsening potable water shortages in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), many residents have raised concerns over the non-provision of monthly water bills.

The water consumers who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews said they have not received bills from the FCT Water Board in the past eight months.

They complained that, even as water grows scarce, they now find themselves making unusual trips to water board offices, searching through old documents simply to confirm what they owe.

NAN reports that the scarcity of pipe-borne water in the FCT and its satellite towns has become a major concern, as rapid population growth has increased pressure on existing water pipelines

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Many residents rarely receive water through public taps due to inadequate distribution systems.

In satellite towns like Kubwa, Nyanya, and Gwagwalada, pipe-borne water is often unavailable for long periods.

The situation is further complicated by confusion over payments and outstanding charges, as residents are often forced to search through old records to verify their water bills.

Abiewese Moru, a resident of Garki, said that for over eight months, water bills had not been arriving at her home.

Worried about unseen charges quietly accumulating and determined to remain responsible, she said she drove to the Water Board to settle whatever debt might have been piling up.

“At the counter, I requested my current bill. Instead, the officer asked me to present an old one before they could access my account.

“I explained that no bill had been delivered since mid-2025, leaving me without any recent document to present.

“Without an old bill, they said they could not retrieve my account details from their system.

“I returned to my car and searched through old documents, hoping luck would succeed where the system failed.

“Eventually, I found a faded bill from 2024. That was the document they used to trace my account,” she narrated.

Mr Moru said to her surprise, the only outstanding charge on her account was for June, 2025.

Curious about this development, she said she asked why the usual house-to-house delivery of water bills had suddenly stopped.

“The attending officer offered a simple explanation: the Board had run out of billing paper.

“I requested that my latest bill be printed immediately so I could clear everything, but I was told to return home, take a photograph of my water meter, and bring the image back to the office.

“I paid part of the June charge listed on the system before leaving the office. After that visit, I never returned with the meter photograph,” she said.

Emmanuel Udoh, a resident of Life Camp, said the last time he received a bill from the Water Board was in May 2025.

Worried about the accumulated bills, he said he went to the board’s office, only to be told that there was no billing paper or toner in the printing machine to print bills.

He said a Water Board worker told him that he comes to the office only twice a week, rotating with other staff members, because there was nothing to do, due to a lack of working materials.

Another consumer, Deji Akanni, who had the same experience at the Water Board office in Kubwa, said the workers blamed the inefficiency on the administrative style of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

According to Mr Akanni, the workers said the minister’s highly centralised governance style with direct oversight of all parastatal agencies made the water board management ineffective by reducing the autonomy of the head.

They added that it has gone so bad that most heads of agencies in the territory cannot unilaterally approve the purchase of papers and critical stationery for office use without the Minister’s consent.

When NAN contacted the FCT Water Board, a very senior official admitted there had been operational challenges.

The official, who pleaded anonymity because of fear of intimidation, explained that the board used to purchase billing papers for printing and also distribute monthly bills.

The official added that the procurement responsibility was transferred to the Procurement Department at the FCTA Secretariat – the minister’s office.

According to the official, the board had submitted a request in the past months and is awaiting approval.

Sources within the board also linked the disruption in water supply to a shortage of water-treatment chemicals.

They also cited unpaid electricity bills owed by the FCT Administration to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company.

They added that the debt reportedly led the electricity provider to “cut power supply to some Water Board facilities, disrupting operations.”

To prevent future problems, the official said that the board is considering introducing an electronic billing system.

“The proposal would allow water bills to be sent directly to customers through email.

“However, another challenge is that we are yet to have email addresses for many customers. Efforts are underway to collect and update residents’ contact details.

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“The goal is to reach most customers digitally, even if some households remain outside the system,” the official said

Until the proposal is implemented, many residents across the nation’s capital may continue searching through old files just to pay a simple water bill.

The situation reflects deeper administrative weaknesses within critical public utilities, where basic operational needs can stall essential services and leave residents navigating uncertainty over payments and supply.

Unless urgent reforms address procurement bottlenecks, improve institutional autonomy, and modernise billing systems, similar disruptions may continue to undermine service delivery across the FCT.

(NAN)