While Government Offices Get Millions for Generators, Communities in Bauchi Still Search for Water

Secrets Reporters

The questions surrounding the repeated allocation become more difficult to ignore when placed against the everyday realities of ordinary residents across Bauchi State. While N20 million is being budgeted again for a power generating set for the Deputy Governor’s Office, communities across the state continue to struggle with something far more basic: access to safe water.

In Karofi, a community within the Bauchi metropolis, residents reported in 2025 that they had endured a water shortage for about three years. According to residents, the few available boreholes were inadequate for the population, leaving families to struggle for reliable water. One resident said the crisis had become so severe that fetching water could interfere with his ability to go to work, while children were reportedly involved in fetching water during school hours.

The problem is not confined to the state capital. In Yanda Bayau, Dambam Local Government Area, residents were reported in 2025 to be sharing a water source with animals because of acute water scarcity. Young people, particularly girls, were described as walking long distances to fetch water from a puddle that had become a communal source.

In Gital, Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area, the community’s district head told authorities in 2023 that the only available sources were four broken hand pumps. Residents appealed for their rehabilitation, warning that the lack of safe water could expose the community to waterborne diseases.

The situation has also affected communities within the Bauchi metropolis. In 2023, residents of Wuntin Dada, Dutsen Tanshi, Durumi Biyu, Nassarawa Jahun and Tashar Gulmammu Jahun, among other areas, reported prolonged interruptions in water supply. Some residents said they had been forced to buy water from vendors, with one resident of Wuntin Dada reporting that the price of a 20 litre container had risen from N200 to N400.
These are not merely inconveniences. Access to water is directly connected to public health, sanitation and livelihoods.

In 2025, the Bauchi State Government’s own budget performance report showed several water projects with little or no implementation during the first quarter. For example, N500 million was budgeted for construction of water facilities under a WaterAid programme, but only about N9.86 million roughly 2 percent was recorded as performance in Q1. Other allocations included N250 million for water facilities under a WASH project, N800 million for water provision under the Inclusive Basic Service Delivery programme and N500 million for strengthening WASH services across one local government in each senatorial district, with the report recording zero Q1 performance for those lines.

The contradiction raises a larger question about what government considers urgent.

A generator for the Deputy Governor’s Office may be necessary if the office requires uninterrupted electricity. But if the same generator has already received N20 million in the previous budget cycle, with N6.334 million recorded as expenditure, the recurrence of another N20 million allocation demands an explanation.

Was the first generator purchased?
If it was, where is it?
Why does the same project description appear again?
What exactly was the N6.334 million spent on?
And why should another N20 million be committed to the same purpose when communities are still appealing for water facilities and functional healthcare infrastructure?

The contrast becomes even more striking when the alternatives are considered. The N20 million budgeted for the generator could be directed towards rehabilitating multiple broken boreholes, improving water infrastructure in communities such as Gital, or supporting the rehabilitation of existing PHCs.