The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engr. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, speaks on his efforts to improve the water and sanitation sectors in Nigeria since he took over about two years ago.  At the ministerial briefing in Abuja, the minister, a professor of water engineering, boasted that a lot has changed through sound policies and programmes initiated by the Tinubu administration to give the sector a new lease of life.

By Soni Daniel, Editor, Northern Region and Gabriel Ewepu

When you took over the affairs of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, what were the issues you met on ground, and how have you addressed them?

When we came on board there were several of our infrastructure that were abandoned, some of them were obsolete, and by the directive of Mr President we took a tour of all the agencies to ascertain their successes and challenges, and to put in place all that would make life beautiful for Nigerians. We have successfully completed three dams and commissioned, which are also now for usage, one of the is the Rafin Yashin Multipurpose Dam, Niger State, which was completed and commissioned in November 2023, and it is supplying about 3,700 cubic meters of water for irrigation, water supply, and flood control. The second one is the Odo-Ape Hydropower Dam in Kogi State that was also commissioned in February 2024, and it has capacity of 3,500 cubic meters, and it is supplying water and serving about 2,800 farmers, and the third one is the Amla Otukpo Dam in Benue State, which has been completed since September 2023. Under the Public Private Partnership arrangement: we were able to concession the 40MW Kashimbilla Hydropower and Kashimbilla Integrated Cargo/Agro-Allied Airport (Category B) all in Taraba State. Also, two dam and hydropower projects are at various stages of Public Private Partnership, PPP, concession, which are the 460MW Katsina-Ala hydropower project in Benue State, and the 20MW Farin Ruwa hydropower project in Nasarawa State. These projects would provide additional power supply, aid movement of agricultural goods and promote development of cottage industries in the area. Alau Dam Reconstruction/Upgrade and Other Dams are ongoing. The Federal Executive Council, FEC has given approval of funds for the reconstruction/upgrade of the Alau dam, to include irrigation and hydropower components, in addition to the original purpose of water supply. The reconstruction/upgrade of the Dam was flagged-off on Saturday, March 1, 2025.

Efforts are ongoing to ascertain the condition of other dams nationwide for their safety and integrity. Study and design are ongoing for construction/rehabilitation of Dura dam in Benue State, Lafia dam in Nasarawa State, Ado Awaye dam in Oyo State, and Galmara dam in Bauchi State while that of Datsin Hausa in Adamawa State is of great concern to us because there  are release of from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon, it affects the entire country, and what we are doing now is we have completed the study and design of the dam, we are the stage of procuring a transaction adviser which will enable us carry out the construction of the dam. However, when it is constructed it will act as a buffer dam that would also be used for irrigation, additional hydropower source, and control the flooding from the Benue trough.Dams at advanced Stages of Completion are 14 dams, which are at advanced stages of completion, including Mangu dam in Plateau at 91 per cent; Ogbese dam in Ekiti State at 70 per cent; Adada Dam, Enugu State at 90 per cent, and among others. The irrigation components of our dams will boost food production and job creation.

How are the dams helping to boost food production and power generation?

Well, on irrigation projects, we have five irrigation projects that are at several stages of completion, including Middle Rima Valley, Sokoto State at 90 per cent; Tada Shonga in Kwara State at 85 per cent; Middle Ogun, Oyo State, Lower Ogun in Ogun State, Chouchi, Adamawa State. We have eight other Drip/Micro irrigation projects at selected locations are ongoing across the country to generate employment, and we are inviting the private sector to come in and key into the project. It is also noteworthy to let Nigerians know about the Sustainable Power and Irrigation in Nigeria, SPIN, Project: The Ministry, in collaboration with State Governments, is embarking on “Sustainable Power and Irrigation in Nigeria (SPIN) Project”, which will involve rehabilitation and modernization of selected dam and irrigation projects for increased food production and security. In addition, there will be assessment of water bodies with hydropower potential in order to develop a master-plan on hydropower generation for Nigeria. 20 States have shown interest in SPIN project; Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

How many hectares of land have been irrigated so far for food production?

The River Basin Development Authorities, RBDAs, are the implementation arm of the Ministry’s contribution to national food security, rural development and job creation. There is availability of substantial arable lands in the RBDAs with a total of 395,624 hectares with irrigation infrastructure developed for 154,000 hectares providing jobs for 1,658,576 farmers. In order to further boost agriculture and achieve food security, 4,429.36 hectares are leased out by the RBDAs to commercial farmers till date. Tractors and Combined Harvesters have been provided in some RBDAs, to support agricultural activities. Aside from irrigation projects, the RBDAs are carrying out water supply projects, production of table water, water quality analysis, development of Songhai Model farms, and among others across the nation. Generally, rain-fed production accounts for the bulk of Nigeria’s agricultural production at lower cost per hectare but is more vulnerable to drought, floods and other incidences caused by the impact of climate change.  In order to meet the food production requirements of the nation, there is the need to achieve a strategic balance between rain-fed and irrigated crop production.

Has the concession of hydro plants brought the required benefits to Nigeria?

Of course, there are immense benefits, I would say. In January 2024, the sum of ₦7,121,521,142.00 was generated as commencement fee for the first five years into the Special Concession Account of the Federal Government as Revenue from the Concession of the 40MW Kashimbila Hydropower Plant. The Nigeria Integrated Water Resources Management Commission, NIWRMC, issued 24 licenses to different categories of licensees from 2023 to date while 45 are under process, the commission generated ₦104.64 million as revenue from Licenses and demand notices issued for water use charges from 2023 to 2024.

What has been the level of success of the Water Supply projects under your Ministry?

We awarded 113 contracts for the construction of water supply schemes across the country in 2024, which are currently at various stages of construction. Four Water Supply projects were flagged-off between December, 2024 – March, 2025, and are on-going, namely: Greater Dutse Water Supply Project, Jigawa State; Rehabilitation and Upgrading of Buruku/Gboko Water Supply Project in Ameladu Headworks, Benue State; Ugbema Water Supply Project, Benue State; and Wannune Water Supply Project, Benue State.

Open defecation is still rampant in Nigeria despite your effort to stop it. Can you tell Nigerians the success and impact of the ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet’ campaign?

The ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet’ campaign has gained remarkable momentum, which led to additional 40 Local Government Areas attaining Open Defecation Free, ODF, status, bringing the total of ODF LGAs to 142. We have also developed the ODF jingles as a sensitization strategy in five languages namely, English, Pidgin, Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba, which are aired weekly on radio and television reaching over 25 million Nigerians across all the States including FCT. Meanwhile, we have launched the Revised Clean Nigeria Campaign Implementation Strategy towards an Open Defecation Free Nigeria (2025 – 2030). We have constructed 159 Sanitation and Hygiene facilities in 23 States across the six Geo-Political Zones; and awarded 38 Sanitation and Hygiene facilities in 15 States across the 6 Geo-Political Zones including the FCT.

The River Basin Development Authorities in Nigeria appear to be incapable of making the required impact expected of them. What is being done to make them perform maximally?

We are making efforts to revitalize the RBDAs: The Ministry is embarking on the following: Collaborating with the private sector to re-equip the RBDAs to accelerate food production and rural development; and engaging State Governments to reclaim encroached RBDA farmlands by communities and individuals. We will pursue the Partial Commercialization programme of the RBDAs to attract private sector funding and make them commercially viable and self-reliant; and monitor staff training and development, reward performance as well as address underperformance in the RBDAs.

The Ministry hopes to complete and commission about 11 projects in 2025 as part of achieving the Mr. President’s mandate, and we use this opportunity to express the Ministry’s deep appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his unwavering commitment and support to the Water and Sanitation Sector.

What are you doing to avert the yearly flooding of some states in Nigeria?

The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, NIHSA, has already alerted Nigeria ahead of the flood with the 2025 Annual Flood Outlook, AFO, prediction. Such warnings can be found in its Annual Flood Outlook, AFO, 2023 – 2025, and were presented to the nation focusing on early warning systems to avert/mitigate flood disasters most especially along the major rivers in the country. About 1,249 communities, 176 LGs, and 30 States are at risk of being flooded in 2025. The Assessment, Sampling and Analysis of Water Samples and Interpretation of Hydro-Chemical and Isotopic Data in the Iullemeden Basin. It was also carried out to promote understanding of the hydro-dynamics of the aquifer system, thereby enhancing agricultural practices in the zone; and establishment of Automatic Weather Observation Stations (AWOS). Four Automatic Weather Observation Stations (AWOS) were established and installed at Yola in Adamawa State; Kabba in Kogi State; Katsina Ala in Benue State, and Bida in Niger State to provide real–time meteorological components of the Hydrometeorological data required for proper assessment and management of flood & drought in the country. Also, the National Flood Insurance Programme, NFIP, is on and was launched in April 2025 to provide financial support to vulnerable households, farmlands, and livestock affected by climate-induced flood disasters, demonstrating Nigeria’s commitment to climate resilience and livelihood security. Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes: NIHSA, offers technical guidance on water-related aspects of ACReSAL, including water conservation, harvesting systems, irrigation, rural water supply, sanitation, and watershed and aquifer management.