Lagos water corporation serves only 1.03% of population — Official

The Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) says its water community serves 34,424 registered families or an estimated 1.03 in keeping with cent of the state’s 20 million citizens.
The company, during the Deputy Director, Company Affairs and Emblem Control, Rasaq Anifowoshe, disclosed this in an unique interview with the Information Company of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Mr Anifowoshe stated this whilst responding to questions bordering at the LWC’s water protection and growth plans.

“The use of an estimated reasonable family dimension of six individuals, the choice of citizens related to those connections is 206,444, an identical to roughly 1.03 in keeping with cent of the state’s estimated inhabitants of 20 million,” he stated.

Mr Anifowoshe disclosed that the company had an put in water manufacturing capability of roughly 210 million gallons in keeping with day (MGD).

This, he stated, was once towards an estimated state’s day-to-day water call for of roughly 540 MGD, as mentioned within the Lagos State Water Provide Grasp Plan.

“A assessment of the company’s 2025 manufacturing information signifies an mixture annual manufacturing of roughly 2,633.22 million gallons, identical to a median day-to-day manufacturing of about 7.21 MGD.

“In response to those information, exact day-to-day manufacturing is 3 in keeping with cent of the put in capability,” he stated.

NAN stories that the above figures spotlight a considerable hole between put in capability, exact output and estimated water call for throughout Lagos State.

Mr Anifowoshe known growing older distribution pipelines, expanding call for coming up from inhabitants expansion and fast urbanisation in addition to the wish to rehabilitate and extend current water infrastructure as the foremost constraints.

NAN stories that those demanding situations have an effect on the company’s skill to increase public water provide, in particular to communities depending on boreholes and personal distributors.

Throughout Lagos, citizens spend hundreds of naira on replacement water resources as abnormal public provide and inaccessible connections build up family prices.

Some Lagos citizens interviewed through the NAN throughout Iponri, Oworonshoki, Costain, Apapa Street and Ebute Metta printed considerations about unreliable provide, failed amenities and insufficient water force.

On the Iponri Housing Property, Adebayo Solomon, stated his family spent about N1,500 day-to-day on vendor-supplied water, amounting to N45,000 per 30 days.

Mr Solomon stated the expenditure would general roughly N547,500 if sustained all through the 12 months.

He stated electrical energy shortages every so often disrupted water availability, forcing his family to regulate saved provides or pay upper charges.

Mr Solomon stated he would welcome an LWC connection if it equipped common provide and decreased dependence on distributors.

Every other Iponri resident, Abdulkareem Ibrahim, stated he depended on public boreholes equipped through philanthropists as a result of his group won no LWC provide.

“I rely on public water, the only equipped through philanthropists. I fetch it within the morning or once I go back from paintings at night time,” he stated.

Mr Ibrahim stated the boreholes helped him keep away from direct water bills, even if energy interruptions every so often disrupt pumping, forcing him to shop for from distributors.

“I’m simply glad that we’ve got water in any respect, all due to our magnanimous neighbours,” he stated.

In Oworonshoki, Amanda Ogbodo, stated she spent between N2,200 and N3,600 weekly on vendor-delivered borehole water.

Mrs Ogbodo stated the expenditure quantities to between N8,800 and N14,400 over 4 weeks.

She stated the LWC water had flowed extra persistently in portions of her space over the previous 4 months, principally from Friday afternoons into Saturday.

Then again, she disclosed that properties at the upper floor remained underserved on account of inadequate force, leaving citizens at the decrease floor higher offered.

She recalled that her trade premises in the past won LWC water, with 8 or 9 customers contributing N10,000 per 30 days.

Mrs Ogbodo stated provide stopped for approximately 4 years after a pipe broke and citizens have been advised upkeep have been vital.

She stated water returned intermittently in 2025 however had handiest just lately transform extra constant.

“Electrical energy shortages over the previous two weeks had additionally decreased availability and greater water prices.

“We plead with the federal government to assist us run the pipe once more and resume provision of continuing water get entry to,” she stated.

At Costain, Eniola Adewale, stated a truckload of water prices between N1,200 and N1,500, with distributors every so often doubling costs all the way through shortages.

She stated her family depended on cellular distributors since the public facility was once far away and offered water irregularly.

Ms Adewale stated she distrusted vendor-supplied water as a result of its supply was once unknown, the use of sachet water for cooking as an alternative.

Eunice David, a meals seller on Thomas Boulevard, Costain, stated she spent considerable quantities per 30 days pumping water for family use.

Mrs David stated a public water facility in the past serving her group were non-functional for a while.

“We don’t know what to do once more. We’d like assist from the federal government,” she stated, interesting for normal and reasonably priced public water,” he stated.

On Opeoluwa Boulevard, Apapa Street, Garuba Alasan, stated the general public water facility were non-functional for approximately two decades.

“I’ve lived right here for approximately 30 years, and previously two decades, I’ve used personal water resources for my water wishes,” he stated.

At Vaughan Boulevard in Costain, Anthony Olamide, a point-of-sale operator, stated citizens had an LWC connection, even if provide depended in large part on electrical energy.

Mr Olamide stated citizens contributed N1,000 per 30 days against water provide, lowering alternative-water bills when public water was once to be had.

Then again, energy outages stopped provide, every so often forcing families to shop for from distributors.

At Olaogun Boulevard, Abule-Nla Junction Ebute Metta, Esther Emokpaire stated her family spent between N1,000 and N1,500 in keeping with truckload of vendor-supplied water.

She stated the family normally bought water each two days, with costs various in line with availability.

Mrs Emokpaire stated distributors claimed the water was once blank and handled, even if her family had now not verified its high quality.

“There was once a time when participants of my family evolved pores and skin rashes after bathing with water bought from distributors,” she stated.

She added that shortages made water more difficult to acquire and every so often caused distributors to extend costs.

Citizens’ accounts display how abnormal provide, failed amenities and insufficient force go away families paying for possible choices, together with in communities with current public connections.

Their reports carry questions concerning the achieve of public water infrastructure, provide reliability and whether or not introduced interventions are translating into advanced get entry to.

Then again, the Lagos State Govt’s second-quarter 2026 finances implementation document confirmed that 36.2 in keeping with cent of the licensed annual finances for bettering 15 current mini and micro waterworks were spent through June 30.

The document additionally recorded expenditure identical to 4 in keeping with cent of the licensed annual finances for the Adiyan Segment II Waterworks mission.

Those expenditure figures don’t determine the initiatives’ bodily of completion standing or how a lot water they lately provide.

Talking at the company’s plan for expanding public water protection around the state, Mr Anifowoshe disclosed plans of rehabilitation and improve of micro/mini remedy crops.

“This will likely make water obtainable to over 5,616,000 families upon complete rehabilitation, thereby pleasing the mandate of the company to offer potable water to Lagosians,” he stated.

He additionally known extension of distribution community to extend get entry to to potable water for Lagosians as any other plan.

In the meantime, the company has introduced plans to rehabilitate Ojokoro Mini Waterworks and assemble Lagos Island Micro Waterworks to support public water provide.

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Mr Anifowoshe additionally indexed the rehabilitation and upgrading of micro and mini water remedy crops some of the company’s deliberate interventions.

He stated the intervention would make water obtainable to greater than 5.6 million families upon complete rehabilitation.

He indexed digitisation of the distribution community as any other deliberate intervention to permit virtual tracking and far off control of underground pipes and different property.

In line with Anifowoshe, the initiative will assist cut back water losses and non-revenue water.

He additionally disclosed plans to build the Igbonla 100 MGD water remedy plant to spice up provide alongside the Lekki-Epe hall.

“This will likely build up the manufacturing capability of the company to satisfy the call for for water within the Lekki-Epe hall,” he stated.

For citizens who proceed spending hundreds of naira on replacement water resources, the affect of those interventions will in the long run rely on dependable provide, functioning amenities and wider family connections throughout Lagos State.

(NAN)