The African Development Bank Group and Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation have presented the findings of a diagnostic report on the country's urban sanitation sector, calling for stronger partnerships and private investment to extend safely managed sanitation to millions of underserved residents.
The Nigeria Urban Sanitation Sector Diagnostic Report, reviewed at a workshop in Abuja on 7 July 2026, forms part of a Bank-supported assessment covering 12 African countries, designed to identify reforms and investment opportunities to accelerate access to sanitation services across the continent.
The workshop drew federal and state officials, including Commissioners for water resources and sanitation, alongside development partners, academics, civil society groups, and private-sector representatives to examine preliminary findings and chart pathways to strengthen urban sanitation planning, financing, and service delivery.
Nigeria's Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof Joseph Terlumun, reaffirmed the Federal Government's commitment to improving sanitation services through stronger collaboration with stakeholders.
"Addressing Nigeria's urban sanitation challenges requires a holistic approach. No single institution can achieve this objective alone," Minister Terlumun said during remarks at the workshop. "Success will depend on stronger partnerships, innovative financing, effective governance, improved utility performance and active private-sector participation."
Speaking on behalf of the Acting Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, and the Director General for Nigeria, Dr Abdul Kamara, the Bank's Lead Operations Manager, Orison Amu, urged stakeholders to translate diagnostic findings into scalable, bankable investment projects.
"The time has come to move from ambition to delivery," Amu said. "Sanitation is not only a public health imperative but also a prerequisite for environmental sustainability, economic growth and human dignity."
Drawing on the assessment's findings, Jeanne-Astrid Ngako De Foki, Division Manager in the African Development Bank's Water Development and Sanitation Department, emphasised the need to strengthen sanitation services as Nigeria's urban population expands rapidly. With the country's population projected to exceed 400 million by 2050, she called for increased investment, stronger partnerships and innovative service-delivery models to meet rising demand.
The workshop explored how affordable, adaptable and scalable sanitation solutions can complement conventional sewerage systems in rapidly growing urban centres. While piped sewer infrastructure remains essential in dense urban areas, participants argued that on-site sanitation can expand services coverage more quickly and at lower cost, particularly in underserved urban and peri-urban communities.
The workshop also highlighted the African Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative (AUSII), a financing initiative established through the African Water Facility of the African Development Bank Group, targeting on-site urban sanitation across the continent. AUSII aims to mobilise $7 billion in urban sanitation investments over the next decade to deliver improved services to 15 million people across Africa. The initiative also supports countries in strengthening regulatory environments, building institutional capacity and mobilising public and private finance.
The session closed with a call for stronger coordination among government institutions, development partners, financial institutions, the private sector and civil society to ensure that sanitation investments are aligned, scalable and deliver sustainable impact. The African Development Bank reaffirmed its commitment to working with the Nigerian Government to build a more inclusive and resilient sanitation sector.
The African Development Bank's water and sanitation portfolio in Nigeria has exceeded $805 million over the past decade, helping connect approximately eight million people to improved services.
