Six civil society organisations have petitioned the Lagos State House of Assembly, asking it to halt the privatisation plans being implemented by the Lagos Water Corporation.
The groups – Renevlyn Development Initiative, Citizens Free Service Forum, Environmental Defenders Network, Child Health Organisation, New Life Community Care Initiative, and Ecumenical Water Network Africa/Blue Communities Africa – condemned the plan by LWC to foist water privatisation on Lagos residents.
The petition follows a stakeholders’ engagement organised by the Lagos Water Corporation on August 15, 2025, at the Protea Hotel, Ikeja, with support from WaterAid to secure private financing for infrastructural development and public buy-in for the privatisation initiative.
However, the civil society groups said the event was portrayed as public participation in decision-making when it actually aimed to force the Public-Private Partnership down the throats of Lagosians.
They accused the organisers of disregarding the rejection of privatisation by Lagos residents and pretending the initiative enjoyed support.
The groups also expressed concern over comments credited to Hon. Steven Ogundipe, Chairman of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Information, who promised swift legislative backing for the PPP initiative during the event.
Philip Jakpor, Executive Director of Renevlyn Development Initiative, referenced privatisation failures in the UK, which international donors had promoted as a success story.
The groups noted that investors in England and Wales’ water sector withdrew over £85.2 billion from the 10 water and sewerage firms since the industry was privatised more than 30 years ago, according to a 2024 report by the Public Services International Research Unit of the University of Greenwich.
Blaming the lack of access to water in Lagos on failure in legislative oversight, the groups urged the House of Assembly to investigate budgetary allocations to the water sector since 1999.
They listed specific allocations that should be probed, including the Otta-Ikosi waterworks awarded for N4 billion in 2007 and N3 billion expended on the construction of an Independent Power Plant, with an additional N180 million spent monthly on fuelling.
“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, N2.7bn voted by the government and expended on the rehabilitation of Ishasi waterworks supervised by the governor. They also cited the N950 million budgeted for the purchase of chemical for year 2023; N315 million paid as 50% advance payment to the contractor for the supply of liquid alum in October 2023; N1.2 billion budgeted for chemicals in 2024; and N9.5 million for repair of the chemical store gate at Iju and Adiyan,” the group said.
They insisted that public sector funding can turn around the fortunes of the corporation and its service delivery if all monies voted for water availability are used for their intended purpose.
The organisations criticised the inadequate monitoring of funds allocated to the corporation since 1999 and called for a probe into all water contracts, identification and blacklisting of defaulting contractors, and recovery of diverted funds.
In their demands, the groups called for a halt to ongoing privatisation plans by the Lagos Water Corporation, termination of all partnerships aimed at foisting water privatisation on Lagos, including arrangements with WaterAid, and increased budgetary allocation to the water sector with focused oversight on spending.
They urged the state government to conduct a comprehensive study on the successes of the Public-Public-Partnership model, which has worked in many countries, and its suitability for adoption in Lagos State.