The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has faulted the Lagos State Government’s decision to privatise water supply through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme, describing the move as anti-people and a threat to residents’ right to affordable, publicly managed water.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, CAPPA criticised a two-day advocacy workshop organised by the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) to promote the PPP agenda, dismissing it as a “public relations exercise.” The workshop, themed “Attracting Investment for Improved Water Supply in Lagos State through Public-Private Partnership,” reportedly secured pledges from lawmakers to amend laws in favour of investors, while officials described the plan as Lagos’ “first concession” of water infrastructure.
CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, warned that the initiative would shift water from a basic human right to a financial asset controlled by private interests. He argued that the process lacks transparency, pointing to recent government contracts signed with foreign firms without feasibility studies, environmental assessments, or clear financing details.
The group also rejected LWC Managing Director Mukhtaar Tijani’s claim that PPP is not privatisation, noting that concessions, leases, and Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (BFOT) models all surrender operational control to private companies. CAPPA linked last year’s dismissal of over 800 LWC workers to the profit-driven approach of such schemes.
Highlighting global experiences, CAPPA said water privatisation has failed in countries including Rwanda, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, and the United Kingdom, citing tariff hikes, corruption, and service disruptions. It also noted that several major cities—including Paris, Berlin, Buenos Aires, and Jakarta—have reversed privatisation and returned water systems to public control.
Instead of privatisation, CAPPA called on Lagos to embrace “remunicipalisation,” build local capacity, and explore public-public partnerships that prioritise communities. The organisation demanded the immediate withdrawal of the current PPP request for proposals, disclosure of all existing agreements with private investors, and the initiation of a transparent, inclusive dialogue on sustainable water solutions.
