On March 28, 2025, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) will hold a media presentation and official launch of its latest report, Big Debts, Big Thirst: A Case Study of World Bank-Supported Water Projects in Ekiti, Rivers, and Bauchi States.
The timing of this launch closely follows World Water Day 2025, which this year draws attention to the critical issue of glacier preservation and the accelerating impacts of climate change on global freshwater systems. While glaciers are retreating at alarming rates, posing serious risks to water stability in many parts of the world, Big Debts, Big Thirst reminds us that in developing countries like Nigeria, water insecurity stems not only from melting glaciers but from failed governance, unsustainable financing models, and the erosion of public infrastructure through decades of privatisation-led reforms.
Drawing from extensive field data and community-level research across Ekiti, Bauchi, and Rivers States, the report interrogates the real impacts of the World Bank’s Third National Urban Water Sector Reform Program (NUWSRP3). It asks whether the injection of massive loans and the corporatisation of water agencies has resulted in improved access to clean and affordable water or instead deepened inequality and long-term debt burdens for states and citizens.
Apart from the media, participants at the press conference will include leading civil society organisations (CSOs), academics and community representatives who will reflect on what the findings of the report mean for Nigeria’s public infrastructure future and galvanise public discourse around water as a human right.
Event Details:
Date: March 28, 2025
Venue: 1A Adekunle Owobiyi Close, Ogba Lagos State
Time: 09:30 AM
For invitations and further inquiries, please contact Robert Egbe via regbe@cappaafrica.org or Sefa Ikpa via sikpa@cappaafrica.org.
