A coalition of civil society groups has rejected the planned Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the Lagos water sector, urging the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) to instead explore Public-Public Partnerships (PuPs) and other alternatives that have proved successful in other parts of the world.
The groups — Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), Citizens Free Service Forum (CFSF), Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN), Ecumenical Water Network Africa/Blue Communities Africa (EWNA/BCA), Child Health Organisation and the New Life Community Care Initiative (NELCCI) — made their position known during a meeting with the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Environment (Parastatals) held on September 9, 2025, at the Assembly complex in Alausa, Ikeja.
In a petition dated August 18, 2025, the coalition alleged that budgetary allocations to the water sector for more than a decade may not have been used for the intended purposes. While rejecting water privatization in Lagos, they pointed to projects such as the Otta-Ikosi waterworks, awarded in 2007 for about ₦4 billion but still not functional; the construction of an Independent Power Plant that gulped ₦3 billion in addition to a recurring monthly cost of ₦180 million for fuel; and the rehabilitation of Iju and Adiyan Waterworks for which ₦897 million was released.
The petition also cited ₦789 million supposedly spent on revamping 48 mini and micro waterworks across the state, ₦2.7 billion for the rehabilitation of the Ishasi waterworks directly supervised by the governor, and nearly ₦1 billion allocated in 2023 alone for the purchase of water treatment chemicals. Other concerns included advance payments of over ₦300 million to contractors for the supply of liquid alum, a budget of ₦1.2 billion for chemicals in 2024, and even ₦9.5 million disbursed for repairs of a gate at the Iju and Adiyan chemical store.
The petitioners urged the Assembly to investigate these projects and recover funds where necessary for reinvestment in the state’s utilities. They also recommended a comprehensive study on the PuP model, which they noted has been successfully applied in several countries, to determine the suitability of water privatization in Lagos.
Chair of the House Committee on Environment (Parastatals), Hon. Shabi Rasheed Adekola, who presided over the meeting, clarified that the proposed PPP had not yet been approved by the Assembly. He assured that his committee would undertake a thorough investigation into the allegations raised in the petition, adding that Speaker Hon. Mudashiru Obasa had personally received the petition and directed that the meeting be convened.
Adekola commended the petitioners for raising the issues and criticized the Lagos Water Corporation for failing to engage in broad consultations. He urged the corporation to work more closely with civil society groups and stakeholders in order to find sustainable solutions to Lagos’ longstanding water crisis.
