By Toyin Victor, ABUJA
The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA, has raised concerns over plans by the Lagos State Government to concession parts of its public water infrastructure, warning that the move could worsen access to safe and affordable water.
In a statement signed by CAPPA’s Media and Communications Officer, Robert Egbe, the organisation questioned the state’s one-year Memorandum of Understanding with China Harbour Engineering Company, CHEC, and Naston Engineering Nigeria Limited.
CAPPA also said the agreement covers plans for a transmission pipeline beneath the Lagos Lagoon into the Lekki Concession Area, followed by downstream distribution, metering and last-mile connections.
The organisation however warned that the arrangement could eventually give private operators significant influence over water distribution, tariffs, billing and household access.
CAPPA also criticised the lack of publicly available information on the MoU, saying residents have not been given access to the agreement, its terms of reference, details of the consortium’s selection or records of community consultations.
The group further opposed the expansion of prepaid water meters, warning that automatic disconnection when purchased credit runs out could make access to water dependent on a household’s ability to pay upfront.
Citing complaints from residents of Akilo and Baruwa toninclude; intermittent supply, low pressure, delays in activating purchased units, unexplained loss of credits and prolonged outages, CAPPA noted that a good number of households in Baruwa reported spending up to sixty thousand naira monthly on water.
Also, the organisation compared the proposed water reforms with Nigeria’s experience in the electricity sector, warning that Lagos could repeat a model associated with rising tariffs, unreliable services and continued public intervention.
CAPPA therefore called on the Lagos State Government to suspend moves towards water concession and halt further expansion of prepaid metering.
It also wants the CHEC-Naston MoU published and a publicly funded rehabilitation plan for water treatment plants, pipelines, reservoirs and distribution networks.
The organisation maintained that water is a public good and a human right, urging the government to strengthen the Lagos Water Corporation and guarantee universal access, thereby calling on residents, labour unions, students, journalists and civil society groups to hold government accountable for decisions that could shape Lagos’ water system for decades.