INVESTIGATION: Despite Spending N5 Billion, 16 Years Later Owena Multipurpose Dam Is Uncompleted

TheInvestigator’s 2-month inquiry reveals the Ondo State Government secured a $169.72 million loan and received $5 million for the project expected to be completed in 2022.

By Alaba Adeyemi

Unveiling the mismanagement of funds and resources, TheInvestigator uncovers a saga of broken promises and governmental neglect spanning multiple administrations, shedding light on the dire consequences faced by Ondo communities deprived of essential water supply services. Citing comprehensive data from the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, TheInvestigator presents a stark portrayal of Nigeria’s water crisis, highlighting the concerning decline in access to basic drinking water supply services and the glaring disparities between rural and urban areas.

Stephen Ojo is a 20-year-old student of Federal Polytechnic Ado Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti State, he was born and raised in Akure, the capital and largest city of Ondo State, for over a decade he hasn’t seen a functional public water supply from Owena Multipurpose Dam.

Akinwalere Blessing, a resident of Idanre who is in his forties also has not seen any public water supply within Idanre local government area fed from the dam for close to two decades. 

Data on access to basic water supply services by States from the Water Sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping, 2021 by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources shows that Ondo seats at number 21.

On access to basic drinking water supply services, the data states that “About 67% of Nigerians have access to basic drinking water supply services. This is a 3% decline from the 2019 WASH NORM data.”

Regarding equity in access to basic water supply services, the data reveals that “Access to basic water supply services amongst the richest households is twice higher than that of the poorest household. Access based on the area of residence reveals that people in rural areas have 29% less access than people in urban areas.”

Broken Promises And Unfulfilled Dreams

The Olusegun Agagu-led administration in 2008 contracted SCC Limited to rehabilitate the Owena Multipurpose Dam in Ifedore local government area for N13 billion, N5 billion was paid. When completed the dam’s sole purpose is to provide water to Akure South, Akure North, Idanre, Ifedore, Ondo East, and Ondo West local government areas in the Central Senatorial District of the State.

News of the project brought joy to the people of Ondo Central Senatorial District believing that their water challenges had come to an end. 

Their dream for a steady and clean public water supply turned into a nightmare when in 2009 a judgment of the Court of Appeal which sat in Benin, Edo state sacked Agagu as the governor of Ondo State. Olusegun Rahman Mimiko took over from him, from 2009 to 2016 his administration ignored the project despite the worsening conditions and daunting challenges of getting potable water to the people.

The water supply infrastructure of the state completely collapsed as a result of government neglect leading the people to rely on unsafe sources of water. The Ondo State Water Corporation resorted to sinking boreholes in some areas.

Rotimi Akeredolu came on board in 2016. In September 2019 an evaluation report of the water supply infrastructure to the state capital by the Ministry of Water Resources was released and its findings were terrible.

The report stated that “of 193 km of pipes, the total length of the operational distribution network is 77 km, the AC pipelines were laid in the 5,444 connections. Only 282 were active out of the 4,222 households; from the 780 commercials among them, only 4 were active.; and from the 442 institutions among them only 56 were active in 2016.”

Furthermore, it revealed that the network is in poor condition “with intermittent service when it is functional, low pressure as some pipes are undersized, control valves are buried, some inoperable, and some faulty (leakage, illegal connections, no bulk meter, no district metering area, no customer metering).”

See the complete report below:

On Valentine’s Day in 2019, the Special Adviser to the Ondo State Governor on Public Utilities, Tunji Light Ariyomo announced that the state government has secured $57 million in funding from the French African Development Bank for the reticulation of the Owena Multipurpose Dam in Ifedore local government area.

Ariyomo, an Akure indigene, who was the Chairman of the Committee that secured the loan also announced that the state had received $5 million as the first tranche of the funding for the project which was expected to be completed in 2022. 

After the first $57 million loan was approved and $5 million received the Ondo State Government realized that the project did not properly map out coverage areas, parts of the host local government area were left out, and this necessitated the expansion of the project and seeking more loans.

Explaining the need for the expansion, Ariyomo said “This is what led to our additional effort to secure the $112.72 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) starting in May 2019 with an earlier mission visit by the AfDB team. This second fund was to address the outstanding 50% reticulation coverage of Akure metropolitan area under the AFDB’s sponsored Owena Multipurpose Dam Water Project and reticulation to all satellite towns and communities along the water transmission route from Igbara-Oke to the state capital.”

He added that “The reconstruction of the collapsed spillway and the restoration of the raw water line and the high lift pumps for the new intake at the Owena–Ondo road (Elegbudu Agba) water supply scheme with a design capacity of 19,800m3/day of treated water, which was originally built in 1965.”

TheInvestigator’s 2-month inquiry reveals the Ondo State Government secured a $169.72 million loan and received $5 million for the project expected to be completed in 2022. Two years later, it is still far from completion.

Residents of Akure South, Akure North, Idanre, Ifedore, Ondo East, and Ondo West local government areas in the Central Senatorial District of the State still lack potable water because the project stalled. Some shared their plights with TheInvestigator, they painted a gloomy picture.

On the impact of not having water supply Stephen Ojo said “Some people’s wells will have water during the rainy season but will dry up during the dry season. This dry season, it has been very difficult for us to get portable water. Many wells dried up during the dry season.”

Akinwalere Blessing, a resident of Idanre also told  TheInvestigator that “aside from boreholes sunk by individuals and members of the federal legislature as zonal intervention projects there is no place within the local government where a tap is working.

“Idanre, a community known for its hills, suffers from perennial water problems. We suffer a lot from water scarcity, people sometimes trek a long distance to get water to drink.”

Emmanuel Akinmola, a resident of Lisaluwa area in Ondo town, Ondo West Local Government, said “Water is gold here, especially when clean and safe water. I don’t know of any part of Ondo that enjoys running water.”

“The dam that is supposed to give us water is in our local government but there is no water.” Joseph Peter, a resident of Igbara Oke said.

Ethnic Politics

Months after the Akeredolu-led government took power, allegations of anti-Akure political sentiment began making rounds. Indigenes of Akure within the government were allegedly being viewed with suspicion and disdain.

The clamor for an Akure person to become the governor of the state was very high. Anyone who had also aspired to be governor before that was within the government was also treated with suspicion.

Ifedayo Abegunde, who at that time was the Secretary to the State Government resigned due to official frustration.

According to an Ondo politician, who is also a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Femi Odere, Akeredolu treated most of the men from Akure within his cabinet with suspicion and contempt. 

Weeks after the funding was approved cabinet reshuffle took place and Ariyomo who was believed to be the brain behind the funding was made Special Adviser on Power, in a move that is believed to be motivated by tribal politics within the Akeredolu’s government.

“Akeredolu not only refused to fund Ariyomo’s office but when Tunji brought in $57million for a water program and secured the approval of AFDB for an additional $124 million, the late governor removed him from the water project two weeks after he received an alert for the project,” Odere told TheInvestigator.

Ifedayo Abegunde was a gubernatorial aspirant in 2012 before throwing his weight behind Akeredolu while Ariyomo also contested in the primary election of the APC in 2016, some people supposedly loyal to Akeredolu viewed them as a threat to his second-term ambition.

In July 2022 the Commissioner of the Ministry of Water and Sanitation resigned because she was redeployed to another Ministry.

Akeredolu’s Government was believed to be dominated by an “Owo Cabal” comprising of politicians from Owo his hometown, which comprises Akeredolu’s son, Babajide; former Head of Service, Dare Aragbaye former Chief of Staff to the governor, Olugbenga Ale and several other politicians of Owo origin.

Tunji Light Ariyomo, former Special Adviser to the Ondo State Governor on Public Utilities was contacted by TheInvestigator to confirm Odere’s statement on why he was removed, he revealed that his removal was politically motivated.

He said “We shielded the program from the vagaries of politics and external influence. This was why I could boast when I was suddenly removed from the project that I was certain that the vile characters that were plotting and scheming to oust me from the project because they were eying the money instead of the goals were on a futile zero-sum mission, I was that certain.”

On why the project stalled, Ariyomo maintained “Yes, the processes can be delayed at a great cost if incompetent individuals are saddled with anchoring the projects or positioned to lead the project.”

TheInvestigator was able to track N8 billion budgeted for the project in the State’s 2023 budget, in 2022 N7.780 billion was budgeted.

In the same budget documents, the state hopes to receive an N16 billion loan from the French African Development Bank for the provision of water facilities in Akure and its environment.

The inability to execute these aspects of the budget confirms the fact that the state did not satisfy the organization providing the funds.

All efforts to speak with the State Ministry of Water Resources proved unsuccessful.

When this journalist visited the office of the Ondo State Water Corporation in Akure in March 2024, the office sourced its water from a solar-powered borehole within its premises. About five taps fitted with Automated Teller Machines (ATM) are fitted outside from which water is sold to the members of the public. A proof that public water supply facilities have collapsed completely.

A staff of the Ondo State Water Corporation who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that public water infrastructure has collapsed.

TheInvestigator produced this story through its Environmental and Accountability Reporting (EAR) project with support from CITAD and the MacArthur Foundation.