Water and Poverty Situation in Oyun Local Government Area, North-Central Nigeria

Abstract

This study looks into the water and poverty situation in Oyun Local Government Area, North-central Nigeria. A well-structured questionnaire is used to collect data at household level. Thirty households were sampled at random in each of the 11 wards in the LGA, giving a total of 330 households. The data were analyzed using percentages, Kendall‘s correlation coefficient and WPI (Composite Index Method). The results revealed that Ojoku scored highest (62.4) while Igbonna scored lowest (52.0), which shows that it is the most water poor in the area. The result of the overall WPI (58.34) shows that the water and poverty situation in the whole of the LGA is slightly above average. The study concludes that the overall water and poverty situation in Oyun LGA is fair. It is therefore recommended that appropriate measure should be taken to improve the overall water accessibility and usage in the LGA by creating more water
supply points in the community and renovating/upgrading the existing water works in the area for improved pipe borne water supply. Also, water use should be extended beyond domestic usage into other sectors that can increase productivity and hence, the overall poverty level in the area.

Key words: Water, Scarcity, Poverty, Access, Capacity, Resources,
Uses, Environment