Uba Sani, the governor of Kaduna State, has committed to achieving 100% water supply coverage throughout the state by the end of 2026.

He claimed that in just two and a half years, his government had raised water output from 8% to over 30%.

During the National Water Resources Institute's management's courtesy visit to Government House in Kaduna on Saturday, the governor made the commitment.

After years of disrepair and deterioration, Sani credited the improvement to a thorough revamp of the state's water infrastructure.

He lamented that the water sector had suffered systemic neglect for more than a decade, resulting in abandoned infrastructure and severely disrupted service delivery.

"We encountered a sector in deep distress when this administration took office," he stated. Overall water production had dropped to an astounding 8%, treatment plants were inactive, and distribution networks had been severely damaged by previous urban renewal initiatives.

The governor clarified that in order to revitalise and update the state's water infrastructure, his administration started an extraordinary reform initiative.

The government has "committed between ₦93 billion and ₦100 billion over the next four years, from 2024 to 2027, to ensure that every household in Kaduna State enjoys a steady and reliable supply of clean water," he revealed.

Sani revealed that over ₦5bn had been spent replacing pipes lost to vandalism and damaged during previous urban renewal projects in Zaria and Kafanchan.

He added that “a further ₦10bn investment in the replacement of priority and critical pipelines in Kaduna is ongoing,” alongside an investment of ₦1.4bn in high-quality water purification chemicals.

The governor also said his administration had cleared outstanding electricity bills of ₦1.3bn to ensure that pumping facilities remained operational and water production uninterrupted.

Beyond infrastructure, Sani said his government had prioritised the welfare of workers in the water sector, describing them as critical to the success of the reforms.

He disclosed that salary arrears of staff of the Kaduna State Water Corporation, amounting to over ₦900m, had been cleared, with the workforce fully integrated into the reform agenda.

“I have also approved the allocation of land for a mass housing project in Millennium City, Kaduna, so that professionals who safeguard our water resources can have homes they are proud of,” he said.

Sani stressed the need for long-term sustainability through capacity building, noting that infrastructure alone would not solve water challenges without skilled manpower.

In order to "bridge critical training gaps and ensure our agencies are staffed with well-trained professionals," he declared that property would be allotted for the National Water Resources Institute to develop branches in Zaria and Kachia.

Dr. Abduljalal Danbaba, the institute's director-general, previously stated that the NWRI coordinated the efforts of the nation's twelve river basin agencies and had academic and scientific mandates.

Danbaba also stated that the institute, which was recently acknowledged as a World Meteorological Centre in Africa, would provide Kaduna State authorities with subsidised training to boost capacity in the sector and advises the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation on personnel development.