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Chidi Ugwu
The Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday promised to carry out an in depth investigation on the sums allocated for water projects in Lagos that may not have been used to address the water crisis in the state.
The Chair of the House Committee on Environment (Parastatals), Hon. Shabi Rasheed Adekola, made the disclosure at a meeting with six civil society groups that had petitioned the House on the planned pilot Public Private Partnership (PPP) proposed by the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) which they are averse to.
The groups – Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), Citizens Free Service Forum (CFSF), Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN), Ecumenical Water Network Africa/Blue Communities Africa (EWNA/BCA), Child Health Organisation and the New Life Community Care Initiative (NELCCI) in a petition dated August 18, 2025 had alleged that budgets for water in Lagos have not been used for the purpose.
Some of the projects the groups want probed are the N4 billion for the Otta-Ikosi waterworks awarded in 2007 but is still not working; N3 billion expended on construction of an Independent Power Plant (IPP) which also included an additional N180 million expended monthly on purchase of fuel; N897m released by the Lagos State government for rehabilitation of Iju and Adiyan Waterworks; and N789m released by the Lagos State Government for rehabilitation of the 48 mini and micro waterworks in Lagos.
Others are N2.7bn voted by the Lagos State Government and expended on the rehabilitation of Ishasi waterworks supervised by the Governor, N950 million budgeted for purchase of chemical for year 2023; N315 million paid as 50% advanced payment to contractors for the supply of liquid alum in October 2023; N1.2 billion budget for water treatment chemicals in 2024; and N9.5 million for repair of chemical store gate at Iju and Adiyan.
The water justice groups met with members of the Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday September 9 on the invitation of the Committee on Environment (Paratstals) and restated their opposition to the pilot PPP in the water sector. They demand instead, the recovery of the said sums and reinjecting them into water projects since in their view, water services in Lagos remained prostate.
At the meeting, Hon. Adekola, who also doubles as representative of Lagos Mainland II Constituency denied reports that the Lagos State House of Assembly had given approval for the pilot PPP proposed by the LWC, but maintained that discussions were still on to find a lasting solution to the water crisis and the issue of sustainable funding.
Hon. Adekola commended the petitioners for believing in the possible intervention of the House and promised that they would commence investigation on the allegations of misappropriation of funds that were meant for the water projects in the state.
He also said the Committee was open to understanding the concept of the Public-Public Partnership (PuP) that the petitioners recommended as one of the solutions to the water crisis, even as he urged the LWC to commence wide engagement with civil society and other groups on how to address the state’s water crisis.
Representatives of the civil society groups at the meeting were: Philip Jakpor of RDI, Barrister Chima Williams of EDEN, Reverend Kolade Fadahunsi of the EWNA/BCA, Vicky Onyekuru of Child Health Organisation, and representatives of CFSF and NELCCI.