On January 6, 2026, the management of one of the high-brow residential properties in Abuja sent the following message to residents of the property: 'Residents, good day. Information reaching us is that the FCT Water Board has been disconnected from their power source by AEDC (Abuja Electricity Distribution Company). We learned that this was due to non-payment of their electricity bills over time, and AEDC, to recover their money, had to disconnect them from the power source, making the operation of the Lower Osman Dam impossible. This is the reason why water supply in the estate has been stopped since morning. We will keep you informed, but please use your stored water wisely, as we don't know how long it will last…''.
The message triggered another round of panic among the estate's more than 4,000 residents, who, like others in the city, have faced untold hardships over the past two years, from lack of regular water and mounting garbage piles.
Last year, there were several cases of water shortage in Abuja, which was attributed to the water board's inability to purchase water treatment chemicals and repair the dam. The water problems and growing garbage heaps in our properties and other neighborhoods in Abuja and the many excuses we heard were widely reported. The reason for the uncollected waste was that there was a delay by AEPB (Abuja Environmental Protection Board) in renewing its contractual agreements with sanitation contractors who collect waste from residential areas. Due to this the contractors stopped work for a long time. As soon as this was resolved, around August, the garbage trucks were out of service again. This time, we were told that garbage contractors were prevented from accessing the garbage sites by villagers living nearby. Then, there were mountains of garbage everywhere in the city. Abuja generates 3,000 to 3,500 metric tons of waste daily, a figure estimated to double by 2030 due to rapid population growth and urbanization.
As 2025 passed, residents were eager to forget their bitter experiences with their municipal services and hope for better services. But no one could prepare them for the ridiculous reasons given for the current water shortage. Both residents and water board engineers are angry that the FCT administration cannot pay the electricity bill. According to insiders, the FCT Water Board has a monthly electricity bill of over N200 million, and it has been in debt to AEDC “for a few months”.
After power supply was cut earlier this year, the board resorted to powering the turbines at the Lower Usman Dam with diesel-powered generators until FCT Minister Nyesom Wike returned from his Christmas holidays. ''Generators can't power the turbines effectively, but we had to do what we could for the residents who are our customers, and this was during the Christmas holidays. An assistant director of the water board told me, 'What's more, the minister was out of town, and we did not have the approval to settle the electricity bill…' It could only provide supply to households. But hopes for relief were short-lived. On resuming duty on Monday, the minister refused to approve AEDC's request to settle its liabilities, and insisted that the board should continue pumping water with diesel generators. The problem, however, is that the turbines at the dam cannot be effectively powered by generators. The water crisis may not be solved yet.
The Usumaan Dam is a major water source for the city, located on the Usuma River, about 26 km from the city centre. The dam has a reservoir capacity of 120 million liters of raw, untreated water and is vital for the supply of Abuja residents. Originally constructed in the early 1980s, the dam was recently rehabilitated at a cost of over N50 billion, during which residents suffered another round of shortages. Therefore, residents are naturally disappointed with the current round of shortages, especially for the reasons given. A former minister who lives in Gwarimpa said, “I can't believe that the FCT can't pay the electricity bills. How can we be so insensitive?” Abiola Dosunmu, a resident of Games Village, another gated community in the city, lamented, “The minister is more focused on the politics of rivers and the construction of roads in Abuja. But someone should tell them that sanitation and water supply are an important part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Who will speak to Minister Wike on behalf of the aggrieved residents of Abuja? Who will explain to him that adequate water supply is as important as good roads? Who will pay electricity bills of FCT Water Board so that Abuja residents get relief
