Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has applauded the Lagos State Government for making great progress in funding vital water facilities throughout the state, particularly the Adiyan II Water Treatment Plant.
According to a statement issued over the weekend by the Media & Communications Officer of CAPPA Robert Egbe who stated that, the project’s steady development over the past 12 years proves that state-led and sponsored solutions remain the greatest approach to extending public water supply and ensuring universal access to clean, safe, and affordable water for Lagosians.
According to reports from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s recent visit to the plant, Adiyan II is now 80% complete and on pace to be completed by 2027 as planned. The state government has earmarked an additional ₦20 billion in its fiscal budget for 2025 to settle ‘outstanding liabilities’ for the project, demonstrating its commitment.
While applauding the state’s efforts, CAPPA cautioned it not to give over Lagos’ water sector to private profiteers once these projects were done.
The statement stressed that privatising Lagos’ water supply would undermine the state’s huge investments.
‘We strongly urge the Lagos State Government to resist any temptation to privatise or concession the Adiyan II project and other water treatment facilities across the state. Water is not a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder. If Adiyan II or any other public water facility is handed over to private corporations, Lagosians will suffer—higher tariffs, restricted access, and corporate exploitation,’ the nongovernmental organisation warned.
CAPPA cited failed privatisation experiments across Africa, where foreign-backed water projects collapsed due to skyrocketing costs, contract failures, and profit-driven policies that left millions without access to clean water.
Furthermore, CAPPA pointed to the recent withdrawal of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from Lagos’ water sector as a critical lesson.
“What is happening with USAID is a textbook example of why governments should never outsource critical infrastructure to external financiers with hidden agendas.
“The Lagos State Government must recognise this as a blessing in disguise and take full control of its water sector rather than leaving it vulnerable to shifting donor priorities, where financial commitments are subject to geopolitical agendas, austerity measures, and changing domestic policies in donor countries, all of which can leave both governments and communities stranded,” said Akinbode Oluwafemi, CAPPA’s Executive Director.
No less than five minor waterworks were earmarked for rehabilitation under the 2021 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Lagos State and USAID, with private sector involvement playing an important role. However, USAID’s abrupt withdrawal of financing, which was prompted by upheavals and funding cuts inside the United States government, has highlighted the risks of relying on external corporations to supply critical public services. Aside from the immediate cash shortage, this exodus raises even more serious concerns, leaving policy vacuums, postponing key projects, and ultimately diminishing local decision-making power over vital utilities.
With USAID no longer present, the Lagos Water Corporation’s Managing Director, Engr. Mukthar Tijjani, has confirmed that the state is now seeking funding from other international agencies, such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and France’s Agence Française de Développement (AFD), to sustain water infrastructure projects. CAPPA expressed concern about this development, claiming that these financial firms have a long history of imposing severe commercial terms on public utilities.
“JICA and AFD have a track record of attaching dangerous conditions to their loans and grants—cost-recovery tariffs, bulk water purchase agreements, and privatisation clauses and mandates that prioritise corporate profits over public welfare. AFD, in particular, has close ties to Suez, a corporation notorious for its aggressive pro-privatisation stance and the devastation it leaves in its wake. If Lagos aligns itself with these buccaneers, residents will soon be burdened with unaffordable water tariffs while the state loses control over its own infrastructure,” CAPPA cautioned.
CAPPA encouraged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu not to be dismayed by the departure of USAID, but to see it as a blessing in disguise and make history by keeping Lagos’ water under complete public control.
“This is a defining moment. Lagos has the opportunity to lead Africa’s water justice cause by rejecting privatisation and strengthening its public water systems. As Engr. Mukthar rightly acknowledged in an interview on this matter, ‘…we need to rely on the state government more… it is more predictable…’ —unlike funding from external sources.
“The state must invest in the Lagos Water Corporation and the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, to enhance their operational efficiency, and ensure transparency in the sector rather than handing over control to foreign profiteers. The decisions made today will determine whether water remains a public good accessible to all Lagosians, or whether it becomes a luxury available only to those who can afford it,” the statement concluded
CAPPA advised Lagosians to stay watchful and demand that their government prioritize people over profits.
Source: Gist Nawa
