Determinants of Households’ Participation in the Collective Maintenance of Publicly Provided Water Infrastructure in Oyo State, Nigeria

The provision of safe drinking water has been a major concern of government over the decades and boreholes have been drilled in many rural areas in Nigeria. Despite this, the proportion of Nigerians in rural areas with access to safe drinking water is about 50%. This paper evaluates participation in collective maintenance of boreholes and factors that influence it in Oyo state. Through a multistage sampling procedure, 109 households were selected from 5 communities that have been provided with boreholes by the state Local Empowerment and Environmental Management Project. Data collected from these households were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the probit model. Results reveal that rural households participate well in collective maintenance with a greater number making financial contribution. Education of household head, reliability of water, and perception on transparency of management show plausibility of increasing the probability of participation in collective maintenance of boreholes. Distance from the water source, having alternative source of water, male household head, household monthly income and enforcement of rules reduces probability of participation. The marginal effects show that gender, distance to water, having alternative source of water, enforcement of rules and perception on transparency and accountability of management have the highest effect on probability of participation. It is recommended that adult education should be intensified and training of management team on management and administration be done. This is to engender trust and increase participation thereby improving maintenance of the boreholes.