Gombe water crisis sparks N133bn accountability debate

Despite government interventions over the past seven years, residents of Gombe metropolis continue to face persistent water scarcity, characterized by long queues at boreholes and reliance on commercial vendors. Public affairs analyst Abdullahi Kuri and activist Comrade Ibrahim Wala have questioned the government's financial management, demanding transparency on how much was approved, released, and spent, and the status of projects. The government, through its Director-General of Press Affairs, Ismaila Misilli, refutes the N133bn figure, arguing it improperly aggregates different financial categories such as recurrent expenditure, inherited liabilities, capital allocations, and development-partner programs.

Misilli emphasizes the distinction between budgetary appropriations and actual expenditures, stating that a budget allocation does not equate to money spent. Youth leader Khalid Kumo further clarified that an N88.4bn capital provision often cited covers a broader Ministry of Water Resources, Environment and Forest Resources, not solely urban water supply. The government acknowledges spending over N9.5bn between 2019 and 2025 on inherited obligations and operational costs for the Dadin Kowa facility, b