By Peter Emmanuel |
Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has warned that the Lagos State Government’s plan to concession parts of its public water infrastructure could worsen the state’s water crisis and place additional pressure on low-income households.
The warning followed the signing of a one-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Lagos State Government, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and Naston Engineering Nigeria Limited to develop a water infrastructure programme within the Lekki Concession Area.
According to CAPPA, the agreement could pave the way for private companies to gain significant control over water distribution, metering, tariffs and household access.
The organisation also criticised the government for what it described as a lack of transparency around the agreement, saying residents have not been given access to the full MoU, its terms of reference or records of consultations with affected communities.
CAPPA urged the state government to halt further steps towards concessioning the water infrastructure and instead invest in strengthening the Lagos Water Corporation and expanding public access to affordable and reliable water.
CHEC–Naston Deal Raises Fresh Water Concerns
The MoU provides for the development of a technical report and implementation framework that could support a future concession agreement between the Lagos State Government and the consortium.
CAPPA said the first phase of the programme would involve the installation of a transmission pipeline beneath the Lagos Lagoon into the Lekki Concession Area.
The second phase is expected to focus on downstream distribution, including metering and last-mile connections to households and other users within the area.
The organisation said the proposed arrangement raises concerns because private operators could eventually have significant influence over how water is distributed, billed and accessed by residents.
CAPPA argued that decisions involving an essential public service such as water should prioritise universal access and public welfare rather than commercial returns.
CAPPA Fears Private Control Could Drive Up Costs
CAPPA questioned the government’s decision to involve private companies in the management and expansion of public water infrastructure when, according to the organisation, the state has the financial capacity to invest directly in the sector.
It said years of inadequate funding, poor maintenance, unreliable electricity and weak distribution networks have contributed to the poor state of Lagos’ public water system.
Rather than using those challenges to justify private control, CAPPA said the government should rebuild the capacity of the Lagos Water Corporation and provide the resources needed to expand production and distribution.
“The problem is that successive administrations have failed to fund, maintain, and expand the system at the scale Lagos requires,” said Holiness Segun-Olufemi, CAPPA’s Water Program Officer.
He described the move towards private control as an abdication of government responsibility, arguing that allowing a public institution to deteriorate before presenting privatisation as the solution was unacceptable.
Prepaid Meters Put Poor Households at Risk
CAPPA also raised concerns over the planned expansion of prepaid water meters across Lagos, warning that the system could make access to water dependent on households’ ability to pay upfront.
Unlike postpaid systems, prepaid meters can automatically stop water supply once a customer’s purchased credit is exhausted.
Segun-Olufemi said such automatic disconnections could disproportionately affect low-income households, particularly during periods of unemployment, medical emergencies or unexpected financial difficulties.
“For a resource essential to human life, sanitation, and public health, automated disconnections are fundamentally exclusionary,” he said.
CAPPA argued that water access should not be treated in the same way as ordinary commercial services because households cannot simply do without water when they run out of money.
Lagos Residents Already Feeling the Pressure
CAPPA cited experiences from Akilo and Baruwa areas of Lagos, where prepaid water meters have already been introduced, as evidence of concerns surrounding the system.
According to the organisation, residents in the areas have reported intermittent water supply, delays in activating purchased units, restricted supply periods, low pressure and discrepancies between the amount paid and the volume of water received.
In Baruwa, CAPPA said some households reported spending as much as N60,000 monthly to purchase water, while also experiencing sudden disappearance of purchased units and supply interruptions lasting for weeks.
Residents also reportedly complained of dirty water when supply resumed and the absence of clear mechanisms for resolving complaints.
CAPPA warned that expanding the prepaid system without first addressing the underlying problems of infrastructure, supply and accountability could deepen the burden on households already struggling with the rising cost of living.
CAPPA Calls for Halt to Concession Plans
CAPPA called on the Lagos State Government to suspend further steps towards concessioning public water infrastructure and halt the expansion of prepaid water metering.
The organisation also demanded the full publication of the CHEC–Naston MoU, including the agreement’s terms of reference and other documents detailing the proposed water infrastructure programme.
It urged the government to develop and publish a publicly financed plan for rehabilitating treatment plants, pipelines, reservoirs and distribution networks across the state.
CAPPA said the plan should guarantee every household access to a basic quantity of safe and affordable water, while strengthening the Lagos Water Corporation rather than transferring control to private investors.
The organisation also called on communities, labour unions, students, journalists, civil society groups and residents to demand greater accountability from the government, warning that any concession agreement could bind Lagos for decades and affect access to water long after the officials who negotiated it have left office.
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