Neighborhood activists and a consultant of labour organisations have advised the Lagos State Executive to spend money on public water infrastructure moderately than depend on deepest operators, caution that long-term concessions and pay as you go meters may just make water much less reasonably priced for low-income families.
The teams spoke on Friday at a symposium in Ogba, Lagos, organised by means of the Company Responsibility and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) and the Our Water Our Proper Africa Coalition as a part of the 2026 Africa Week of Motion Towards Water Privatisation.
The development was once themed “No Illusions: Pay as you go Water Meters and Water Privatisation Are Failed Fashions for Lagos, Nigeria.”
Audio system incorporated Akinbode Oluwafemi, CAPPA’s govt director; Zikora Ibeh, the organisation’s assistant govt director; Rufus Olusesan, nationwide president of the Precision, Electric and Similar Apparatus Senior Group of workers Affiliation (PERESSA); Dagar Tolar of the Motion for Socialist Selection; and Favour John, founder and govt director of the Sustainable Futures Building Initiative (SUFDI).
Mr Oluwafemi warned that private-sector participation didn’t ensure higher services and products and may just put water past the achieve of poorer families.
“For profiteers, keep watch over of water is turning into the brand new petroleum,” he stated.
He argued that get right of entry to to water for ingesting, cooking, washing and fundamental hygiene will have to now not rely only on a family’s talent to pay.
He argued that get right of entry to to water for ingesting, cooking, washing and fundamental hygiene will have to now not rely only on a family’s talent to pay.
Activists query 20-year concessions
Mr Oluwafemi referred to as at the Lagos State Executive to put up the phrases of its proposed water concessions, together with the monetary duties, tariff preparations and protections to be had to buyers.
Consistent with data introduced by means of CAPPA, the Lagos Water Company (LWC) has introduced a framework for standardised 20-year concessions, with cost-reflective price lists topic to periodic evaluations, foreign-exchange protections for buyers and a 5 in line with cent royalty construction.
The proposed concessions quilt seven water amenities in Lekki, Akilo, Victoria Island Annex, Magodo, Abesan, Alexander and Apapa.
Talking on the match, Ms Ibeh stated the company reported receiving 23 bids throughout 4 venture rather a lot in Would possibly however had now not known most popular bidders or revealed the overall proposed agreements.
CAPPA stated it had requested the identities of bidders, analysis standards, feasibility research and award selections in March 2026.
The gang additionally wondered the state executive’s April 2025 settlement with Belstar Capital and ENKA for water infrastructure rehabilitation and growth. It raised considerations in regards to the variety procedure, financing duties and conceivable results on price lists.
Ms Ibeh cited a one-year memorandum of working out signed in 2026 with China Harbour Engineering Corporate and Naston Engineering Nigeria Restricted for a proposed water infrastructure programme inside the Lekki Concession Space.
The deliberate works come with transmission infrastructure underneath the Lagos Lagoon, distribution networks, metering and family connections.
The Lagos State Executive had presented public-private partnerships so as to draw in funding, rehabilitate water infrastructure and amplify get right of entry to to dependable provide.
At a stakeholder engagement in August 2025, the Lagos Water Company stated the initiative was once supposed to convey in combination public government, buyers and construction companions to make stronger carrier transport.
Activists name for rehabilitation of waterworks
Mr Tolar stated the federal government will have to cope with the situation of current water infrastructure moderately than depend on private-sector participation to get to the bottom of the state’s water shortages.
He mentioned that Lagos had primary waterworks and 48 mini and micro waterworks, however their blended output was once insufficient to fulfill call for.
Bringing up figures he introduced on the symposium, Mr Tolar put the blended manufacturing capability of the amenities, together with the Adiyan waterworks serving Lagos and Ogun states, at about 200 million gallons day by day. He estimated that Lagos wanted a minimum of 500 million gallons an afternoon.
The figures and operational charges he cited may just now not be independently established from the tips supplied on the match.
Mr Tolar referred to as for a complete “Water for All” plan that would come with rehabilitating current amenities, construction further waterworks and the usage of trendy era to extend manufacturing.
He stated the plan will have to account for long run inhabitants expansion. He additionally wondered how a lot successive administrations had invested in water infrastructure since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999.
“No shape or model of privatisation will repair the water downside in Lagos or Nigeria,” he stated.
He cited electrical energy privatisation and private-sector participation in waste assortment as examples of reforms he believed had did not ship the predicted advantages.
Communities endure the price of water shortages
Mr John stated analysis into network water infrastructure in Lagos confirmed that citizens continuously had to offer and handle amenities that are supposed to serve the general public.
Presenting findings from a analysis venture on strengthening resilient public water services and products, he stated many communities trusted water issues donated by means of councillors, spiritual establishments and people as a result of executive amenities have been unavailable or poorly maintained.
He defined that network construction associations (CDAs) on occasion pooled cash to shop for water from tankers, pay electrical energy expenses and service pumps.
“On your network, for instance, there’s no public water. There’s a scenario wherein the CDA even organises to fund a water tanker on occasion,” he stated.
Mr John cited a network the place citizens reportedly spent about N85,000 weekly on water, but the availability remained inadequate.
He proposed public-community partnerships that may give citizens a job in managing amenities. Ladies and younger folks, who continuously endure a lot of the load of fetching water, will have to even be represented in community-level selections.
“Water will have to be available and will have to be to be had and will have to be protected for each human intake,” she stated.
Labour warns of process losses
Mr Olusesan stated staff had a right away stake within the proposed reforms, caution that restructuring and private-sector concessions may just result in retrenchment, casualisation and the lack of employment advantages.
He advised the federal government to give protection to staff’ rights, regularise informal workforce and provides business unions illustration at the forums of public water firms.
CAPPA stated the restructuring of the Lagos Water Company resulted in the disengagement of 425 contract staff in December 2023 and the dismissal of 391 everlasting workforce on grounds of redundancy on 15 April 2024.
The organisation and labour teams challenged the choices, arguing that the personnel discounts weakened the capability of a public establishment chargeable for offering an very important carrier.
The company, then again, attributed the restructuring to a body of workers audit and operational necessities, in keeping with Ms Ibeh.
Mr Olusesan criticised what he described because the promotion of market-oriented water reforms by means of world monetary establishments, specifically the World Financial Fund and the Global Financial institution.
He argued that insurance policies centred on charge restoration, commercialisation and public-private partnerships may just shift extra of the price of water provision to families.
Bringing up studies in Ghana, Senegal and different African nations, he stated private-sector control had now not assured reasonably priced water for poorer communities.
The PERESSA president additionally proposed network water-monitoring committees to file leaks, observe public faucets and dangle water government responsible. He advocated public-public partnerships, by which established public utilities may just assist make stronger different public water techniques.
READ ALSO: Lagos govt water privatisation will deepen inequality, coalition warns
Pay as you go meters lift affordability considerations
Mr Oluwafemi famous that pay as you go water meters may just bring to an end families when their credit score ran out, irrespective of their cases.
“When a meter cuts off provide as a result of credit score has expired, it can’t distinguish between leaking pipes or a circle of relatives looking forward to day by day wages,” he stated.
He mentioned that families dealing with unemployment, sickness or emergencies may just lose get right of entry to to water after they have been least in a position to deal with the results.
“A coverage that recognises buying energy however disregards very important want is discriminatory in its results,” he famous.
Ms Ibeh stated CAPPA had documented proceedings from citizens in Akilo and Baruwa about unreliable provide, delays in activating bought devices, low water drive and discrepancies between bills and the water won.
She stressed out that the proceedings raised questions on whether or not advance fee essentially assured dependable carrier or larger duty.
CAPPA argued that pay as you go metering may just now not be separated from the broader debate over private-sector participation. It stated citizens had to know who would keep watch over distribution, how services and products could be funded and whether or not earnings coverage would take priority over their wishes.
CAPPA questions public session
Ms Ibeh stated the Lagos State Executive’s transfer against private-sector participation in water provision predated the present control of the Lagos Water Company however had amassed momentum thru restructuring, procurement workouts and funding agreements.
She mentioned that CAPPA had challenged the path since a minimum of April 2023, when it wondered the privatisation implications of a December 2021 memorandum of working out between the company and the US Company for World Building.
She additionally cited partnerships involving the Resilient Water Accelerator, WaterAid, Arup and the World Building Incubator as a part of efforts to draw funding into the state’s water sector.
Ms Ibeh wondered a stakeholder workshop convened by means of the company in August 2025 to speak about deepest funding in water provide.
Consistent with her, the company had already invited proposals underneath procurement reference LSWC/BFOT/001/2025 for the rehabilitation, upgrading, operation and upkeep of mini and micro waterworks underneath a Construct-Finance-Perform-Switch association.
The submission cut-off date was once 28 August 2025.
CAPPA described the workshop as a sham session, arguing that citizens have been being requested to speak about a coverage that had already complex thru procurement moderately than being given a significant alternative to persuade the collection of service-delivery type.
The organisation referred to as for larger transparency in procurement and significant session with affected communities earlier than selections with long-term penalties have been made.
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