Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has commended the Lagos State Government for making significant strides towards funding critical water infrastructure across the state, particularly the Adiyan II Water Treatment Plant.
In a statement made over the weekend, it said the steady progress on the project—12 years in the making—demonstrates that state-led and funded solutions remain the best pathway to expanding public water supply and achieving universal access to clean, safe, and affordable water for Lagosians.
According to reports from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s recent visit to the facility, Adiyan II is now 80% complete and remains on track for its 2027 completion timeline. In a further show of commitment, the state government has allocated an additional ₦20 billion in its 2025 fiscal budget to settle ‘outstanding liabilities’ for the project.
While CAPPA commended the state’s efforts, it urged it not to hand over Lagos’ water sector to private profiteers once these projects are completed.
The statement emphasised that privatising Lagos’ water supply would undermine the massive investments already made by the state.
‘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.
Under the 2021 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Lagos State and USAID, no fewer than five mini waterworks were slated for rehabilitation with private sector involvement as a key component. However, USAID’s abrupt withdrawal of funding, driven by upheavals and funding cutbacks within the U.S. government, has laid bare the dangers of relying on external entities to provide essential public services. Beyond the immediate financial shortfall, this exit creates even deeper risks, leaving policy vacuums, stalling critical projects, and ultimately weakening local decision-making power over vital utilities.
With USAID gone, the Lagos Water Corporation’s Managing Director, Engr. Mukthar Tijjani has confirmed that the state is now seeking funding from other international agencies, including the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and France’s Agence Française de Développement (AFD), to sustain water infrastructure projects. CAPPA raised the alarm about this development, warning that these financial institutions have a long history of imposing harsh commercial conditions 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 to not be discouraged with the withdrawal of USAID but to rather treat it as a blessing in disguise and make history by keeping Lagos’ water under full 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 urged Lagosians to remain vigilant and demand that their government prioritise people over profit.
