Lagos govt water privatisation will deepen inequality, coalition warns

A collation of development-focussed groups and individuals has warned that privatising water services in Lagos could make water less affordable for poor residents, urging the state government to invest more in public water infrastructure.

Rufus Olusesan, president of the Precision, Electrical and Related Equipment Senior Staff Association (PERESSA), gave the warning on Monday during the Africa Week of Action Against Water Privatisation 2026, organised by the Our Water, Our Right Africa Coalition (OWORAC) in Lagos.

He stated that private operators could prioritise profitable areas at the expense of underserved communities such as Ajegunle and Makoko.

“Water is not a commodity. It is a human right,” Mr Olusesan said.

Speaking on the theme, Reclaiming Africa’s Water Future: Public Water for All, he called on the Lagos State Government to allocate at least five per cent of its annual budget to water infrastructure.

He noted that the current allocation was less than one per cent, although the figure could not be independently verified.

He also called for the rehabilitation of the Iju, Adiyan and Ishasi waterworks, completion of the Adiyan II project and investigations into contractors handling water projects that had failed to deliver the expected results.

Coalition warns against commercialisation of water

In a joint statement read by Geoffrey Occansey of Ghana’s Water Citizens Network/Revenue Mobilisation Africa, OWORAC noted that inadequate public investment, population growth, urbanisation and climate pressures had worsened water supply challenges across Africa.

The coalition urged governments to strengthen public water systems rather than use their shortcomings to justify transferring services to private operators.

The statement cited global figures showing that 2.1 billion people lacked safely managed drinking water in 2024, while 3.4 billion lacked safely managed sanitation. In sub-Saharan Africa, it said, 167 million people relied on limited drinking-water services that year.

The coalition stated that households without reliable public water supplies often depended on vendors, tankers and private boreholes, leaving poorer residents to pay more for an essential service.

Citing research on urban water access in sub-Saharan Africa, it explained that low-income households relying on vendors could pay between 10 and 20 times more per unit of water than households connected to public networks.

“This is a poverty penalty in which those with the lowest incomes can end up paying the highest prices for an essential service,” the statement said.

It warned that commercial tariffs, concessions, public-private partnerships and prepaid water meters could worsen inequality if access increasingly depended on households’ ability to pay.

The statement also cited a 2025 Global Witness investigation into a Veolia-managed landfill in Colombia, alongside concerns about Veolia’s operations in Gabon and Suez’s involvement in Senegal’s urban water system. The coalition argued that private-sector involvement required effective public oversight and did not automatically resolve infrastructure and sanitation problems.

It called on African governments to publish water-related contracts, financing arrangements, tariffs and expenditure, while involving workers and affected communities in decisions about water management.

Lagos water policy faces opposition

Opposition to private-sector participation in Lagos water services predates the latest campaign.

PREMIUM TIMES previously reported that the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Service Employees (AUPCTRE) opposed the Lagos State Government’s plan to operate its waterworks through a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.

The union accused the management of the Lagos Water Corporation of using water scarcity to persuade residents that private-sector participation was the only sustainable way to improve supply.

“It is disheartening to state here that at this critical period when countries throughout the world are embracing re-municipalisation, Lagos State is spearheading privatisation,” the union said.

The Lagos State Government had maintained that it is not privatising its waterworks but adopting a PPP model to meet the state’s growing demand for water.

The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) had also opposed the proposed arrangement, insisting that water supply should remain publicly managed and affordable.

At Monday’s event, Mr Olusesan proposed a water board comprising government representatives, workers, community groups and civil society organisations. He said the board should publish its budgets and expenditure quarterly to enable residents to monitor public spending.

He also alleged that the Lagos Water Corporation disengaged more than 800 workers in 2024 to make the corporation more attractive to investors. He warned that replacing permanent staff with casual workers could undermine job security, pension entitlements and the technical capacity required to maintain water infrastructure.

A report had stated that the Lagos State Public Service Joint Negotiating Council (Trade Union) condemned the reported dismissal of more than 370 workers from the corporation.

In a petition to the state government, the council’s chairperson, Olusegun Balogun, alleged that the dismissals were carried out under the guise of restructuring and redundancy without adequate communication or negotiations with union representatives.

Mr Balogun urged the government to suspend the process and engage the affected unions, including AUPCTRE and the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations, Government-Owned Companies and Associated Organisations.

He also called for an investigation into the corporation’s management and the use of World Bank loans allocated to improve its operations.

The Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) separately alleged that the dismissals were part of an attempt to privatise water services in Lagos. The group urged the state government to reverse the disengagement and improve water supply across the state.

The reported dismissal of more than 370 workers and Mr Olusesan’s claim concerning over 800 workers in 2024 relate to separate accounts. The corporation and the state government should clarify the figures and circumstances surrounding the reported job losses.

OWORAC proposes continental funding target

At the event, Holiness Olufemi, programme officer for water campaigns at CAPPA, unveiled OWORAC’s position paper on implementing the Africa Water Vision 2063.

Titled “Implementing the Africa Water Vision 2063: An OWORAC Coalition Position on Water Justice, Public Control and Democratic Water Governance”, the paper calls for stronger public water systems, adequate government funding and greater community participation in water management.

Ms Olufemi said the vision could improve access to water and sanitation across Africa, but its success would depend on governments committing sufficient resources and ensuring that public spending produced measurable results.

One of the paper’s central proposals is a continental financing benchmark for water and sanitation, supported by national funding targets and transparent reporting.

Ms Olufemi cited the 2001 Abuja Declaration, under which African leaders committed to allocating at least 15 per cent of their annual budgets to health, as a precedent for establishing a similar benchmark for water and sanitation.

Under the proposal, governments would be assessed not only on their budget allocations but also on the funds released and spent, the infrastructure delivered and the resulting improvements in access to safe and affordable water.

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The paper also proposes an African Water Accountability and Monitoring Mechanism to track progress and hold institutions accountable.

Mr Olusesan called for legislation recognising access to water as a human right and prohibiting water privatisation.

“Government must fund water corporation as it funds roads and airports,” she said.

The campaign comes as the African Union marks 2026 as the Year of Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.

OWORAC urged African governments to use the Africa Water Vision 2063 and the 2026 United Nations Water Conference to advance public financing and strengthen community participation in water governance.

“Public Water for All is not a slogan. It is possible, it is affordable, it is our right,” Ms Olusesan said.

The joint statement was endorsed by water justice and civil society organisations from Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Kenya, as well as the international organisation Corporate Accountability.