Probe Reveals: Abuja Water Billing System Hamstrung by Slow Contract Awards

Abuja, March 15, 2026, has witnessed a surge in concerns from residents in the Federal Capital Territory over the abrupt disappearance of monthly water bills, exacerbating the existing potable water shortages.

The water consumers, who shared their experiences in separate interviews, revealed that they had not received bills from the FCT Water Board in the past eight months, prompting them to make extra trips to the water board offices to verify their outstanding charges.

The scarcity of pipe-borne water in the FCT and its satellite towns has become a pressing issue, with the rapid population growth putting a strain on the existing water pipelines, resulting in many residents rarely receiving water through public taps.

In areas like Kubwa, Nyanya, and Gwagwalada, pipe-borne water is often unavailable for extended periods, further complicated by the confusion over payments and outstanding charges, as residents are forced to search through old records to verify their water bills.

Mrs Abiewese Moru, a resident of Garki, reported that she had not received water bills at her home for over eight months, prompting her to visit the Water Board to settle any outstanding debt, only to be asked to present an old bill before they could access her account.

Moru explained that she had to search through old documents to find a faded bill from 2024, which was used to trace her account, revealing that the only outstanding charge was for June 2025, and she was surprised to learn that the house-to-house delivery of water bills had stopped due to a lack of billing paper.

She was told to return home, take a photograph of her water meter, and bring the image back to the office, but she only paid part of the June charge before leaving, without returning with the meter photograph.

Mr Emmanuel Udoh, a resident of Life Camp, last received a bill from the Water Board in May 2025 and, upon visiting the board's office, was informed that there was no billing paper or toner to print bills, with a worker attributing the issue to a lack of working materials.

Another consumer, Mr Deji Akanni, had a similar experience at the Water Board office in Kubwa, where workers blamed the inefficiency on the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike's, highly centralized governance style, which they claimed reduced the head's autonomy and rendered the water board's management ineffective.

A senior official at the FCT Water Board, who wished to remain anonymous, admitted to operational challenges, explaining that the Board used to purchase billing paper for printing and distributing monthly bills, but the procurement responsibility was transferred to the Procurement Department at the FCTA Secretariat.

The official revealed that the Board had submitted a request for approval in the past months and was awaiting a response, while also citing a shortage of water-treatment chemicals and unpaid electricity bills owed to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company as factors disrupting water supply.

The official stated that the Board is considering introducing an electronic billing system, which would allow water bills to be sent directly to customers through email, but noted that collecting and updating residents' contact details posed a challenge.

The proposed electronic billing system aims to reach most customers digitally, despite some households remaining outside the system, as the Board strives to prevent future problems and improve its services.

Until the proposal is implemented, many residents across the nation's capital may continue searching through old files to pay a simple water bill, reflecting deeper administrative weaknesses within critical public utilities.

The situation highlights the need for urgent reforms to address procurement bottlenecks, improve institutional autonomy, and modernize billing systems to prevent similar disruptions from undermining service delivery across the FCT.