After spending over N14 billion on waterworks across Lagos State since 1999, the Lagos Water Corporation continues to fail in its responsibility to provide potable water to Lagos residents, prompting the state government to consider privatizing the public utility, but civil society groups reject the planned sale of the corporation
By Dafe Favour
A coalition of six civil society groups has petitioned the Lagos State House of Assembly urging it to prevail on the state government to stop the privatization plans being implemented by the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC).
The LWC had organised a Stakeholders’ Engagement on the Pilot Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for Lagos Water Corporation on August 15, 2025 at the Protea Hotel, Ikeja with support of WaterAid to secure private financing for infrastructural development and public buy-in for the privatization initiative.
But the groups in a petition to the House of Assembly, made available to the media, maintained that the event was only portrayed as public participation in decision-making when in actual fact it was aimed at foisting PPP on Lagos residents.
The groups are the Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), Citizens Free Service Forum (CFSF), the Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN), Child Health Organization (CHO), New Life Community Care Initiative (NELCCI) and the Ecumenical Water Network Africa/Blue Communities Africa (EWNA/BCA).
The petition titled: Halt the Lagos Water Corporation Public Private Partnership Gamble with Lagos Water Resources, was signed by Philip Jakpor (RDI); Gomrade Sani Baba (CFSF); Barrister Chima Williams (EDEN); Florence Ifeanyi-Aneke (NELCCI); Rev. Kolade Fadahunsi (EWNA) and Lady Vicky Onyekuru (CHO).
They said the organizers of the event disregarded the long standing rejection of privatization including the PPP by Lagos residents, pretending as if the initiative enjoyed the support of the Lagos people.
They explained that their concern is further heightened by comments credited to the Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Information, Hon. Steven Ogundipe, who promised swift legislative backing for the PPP initiative when he was making his remarks at the event.
Pointing to the privatization failure in the United Kingdom (UK) which the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and other donors had always peddled as a success story, they noted that investors in England and the Wales’ water sector (largely driven by profits) withdrew over £85.2 billion from the 10 water and sewerage firms since the industry was privatized over 30 years ago.
This information, which shows distrust and disinvestment in the privatization exercise, was exposed in a 2024 report by the Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU) of the University of Greenwich.
Blaming lack of access to water in Lagos on failure of legislative oversight, the groups urged the House to investigate budgetary allocations to the water sector since 1999, listing some allocations that should be probed to include the Otta-Ikosi Waterworks awarded for N4 billion in 2007 and the N3 billion spent on the construction of an Independent Power Plant (IPP) which also included an additional N180 million monthly expenditure on fueling.
Others are the N897 million released by the state government for rehabilitation of Iju and Adiyan Waterworks; N789 million released by the government for rehabilitation of mini and micro waterworks across Lagos State, N2.7 billion voted by the government and expended on the rehabilitation of Ishasi Waterworks supervised by the governor.
They also cited the N950 million budgeted for purchase of chemicals for year 2023; N315 million paid as 50 percent advanced payment to contractors for the supply of liquid alum in October 2023; N1.2 billion budgeted for chemicals in 2024 and N9.5 million for repair of chemical store gate at Iju and Adiyan.
They insisted that public sector funding can turn around the fortunes of the corporation and its service delivery if all the funds voted for the provision of water are used for the purpose.
They frowned on the fact that the funds allocated to the corporation since 1999 have not been adequately monitored and called for a probe into all the water contracts, identification and blacklisting of identified contractors who are found wanting and recovery of all diverted funds.
In their prayers they called for a halt to the ongoing privatization plans by the LWC, termination of all partnerships and collaborations that aim to foist water privatization on Lagos including the arrangements with WaterAid and increase in budgetary allocation to the water sector plus pin point oversight on how the monies are spent.
For effective management of the water utilities, they urged the state government to carry out a comprehensive study on the successes of the PPP models which have worked in many countries and their suitability for adoption in Lagos State.
Also responding to the development, Executive Director of the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) Akinbode Oluwafemi, said, “We refused to rubber-stamp a fait accompli and for good reasons which we clearly articulated in our response to the LWC,” CAPPA stated. “What was presented as a stakeholder meeting in fact took place only after the State had already issued Request for Proposals (RFP No. LSWC/BFOT/001/2025), inviting private investors to bid for the rehabilitation, upgrade, operation, and maintenance of mini and micro waterworks under a Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (BFOT) PPP model.
“Genuine stakeholder engagement must precede, not follow, major policy and investment commitments. By inviting bids first before democratic consultation, the Lagos State Government has shown contempt for accountability and treated residents as afterthoughts.
“We therefore reject both the process and its underlying premise. The privatisation of Lagos water is a step in the wrong direction, and we refuse to legitimise a predetermined outcome that undermines public interest.”
