The Kano State Government has blamed the persistent water shortage in the state on what it describes as years of neglect and mismanagement by the immediate past administration of former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
The State Commissioner for Water Resources, Haruna Doguwa, made the disclosure during an inspection tour of key water facilities across the state, where he revealed that several major projects were either vandalized or abandoned under the previous government, plunging millions of residents into prolonged water scarcity.
“These facilities were once the backbone of water supply in Kano, but they were left to deteriorate. The cost of fixing the damage now runs into millions of dollars,”; Doguwa said.
Among the affected facilities is the historic Kano Old Water Works, built in 1930, which had a daily production capacity of 20 million litres before it was reportedly vandalized in 2016. The destruction of the plant, according to Doguwa, has dealt a significant blow to the state’s ability to meet its water needs. The commissioner estimated the cost of damages at $3.5 million.
He also cited the Challawa and Intel 6 Water Works—both constructed under the administration of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso—as major assets that were abandoned and stripped of critical equipment during Ganduje’s tenure. Each facility was designed to produce 350 million litres of water per day, together supplying nearly all of Kano’s water demand at the time.
“In 2016, 12 kilometres of pipes from the Kano River to the treatment plant were removed, raw water pumps were stolen, and the control room was destroyed,”; Doguwa added. “Some of the pumps stolen from Intel 6 were worth over N500 million each.”;
Currently, Kano State requires approximately 700 million litres of potable water daily but can only provide 300 million litres, resulting in a deficit of 400 million litres. Doguwa noted that efforts are ongoing to revive other treatment plants, including the Wudil and Joda facilities, which, when fully operational, are expected to boost supply to 500 million litres—still 200 million litres short of total demand.
The Managing Director of the Kano State Water Board, Garba Ahmed, corroborated Doguwa’s claims, adding that infrastructure damage has severely affected water delivery in high-density areas such as Dorayi, Kofar Pompo, Kabuga, Rijiyar Zaki, Janguza, BUK, and Goron Dutse.
He urged residents to remain patient as the government works to restore services, while also calling for community vigilance to prevent future vandalism.
