The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has accused the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) of violating transparency laws in its ongoing plan to concession mini and micro waterworks under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
In a statement issued on Sunday, March 1, and signed by its Media and Communications Officer, Robert Egbe, the group described the procurement process as secretive and in breach of laid-down procedures.
Last September, the LWC invited private companies to submit proposals to rehabilitate, upgrade, operate and maintain several public water facilities across Lagos.
The facilities listed include Lekki and Akilo Waterworks, Victoria Island Annex and Magodo Waterworks, Abesan and Alexander Waterworks, and Apapa Waterworks.
However, CAPPA said the state government has failed to meet the requirements of the Lagos State PPP Disclosure Framework (2024), which makes it compulsory for information on PPP projects to be made public at every stage.
The group said the framework requires the publication of feasibility studies, Requests for Proposals (RFPs), lists of bidders, evaluation criteria, contract summaries, fiscal risk assessments and procurement timelines on a public portal, without waiting for Freedom of Information requests.
According to CAPPA, none of these documents has been made public since the procurement started last year.
It stressed that the identities of bidders, the evaluation process, timelines and award decisions are still unknown, and no details have been uploaded on the state’s PPP disclosure portal managed by the Office of Public-Private Partnerships (OPPP).
The organisation also noted that key information about the project only became known through a foreign industry publication, Global Water Intelligence, which reported that the LWC received 19 proposals by October 2025 and expected to conclude awards by March 2026 for a 10-year contract.
“In February 2026, CAPPA also learned through foreign news that Lagos State has initiated a parallel process to privatise wastewater infrastructure, beginning with wastewater treatment plants, including facilities in Lekki,” CAPPA stated, describing the situation as “deeply troubling and revealing.”
“It is disturbing,” CAPPA said, “that residents of Lagos and affected communities must rely on an expensive foreign subscription journal to learn about decisions concerning their own public water and sanitation systems, while their government and its water agency refuse to disclose the same information domestically.”
READ ALSO:
- NGX Group Posts Modest Rise in Profit to N10.48bn
- Nigeria’s GDP Grows 4.07% in Q4 Driven by Non-Oil Sector
- PenCom Cracks Down on PFAs, Orders Immediate Reclassification of Personal Pension Contributions
- CAPPA Pushes for Accountability as Nigeria Commissions PCB Facility
The group further said, “The Lagos State Government and certain international organisations actively supporting this approach and governance model continue to disregard disclosure and accountability standards with impunity in Nigeria. These are standards they would never contemplate breaching in their own jurisdictions.”
CAPPA warned that the secrecy surrounding the PPP could affect water tariffs, access and public control of water services.
“Experience across jurisdictions shows that PPP water arrangements frequently result in tariff escalation, reduced public oversight, and long-term fiscal risks, while failing to deliver sustained infrastructure investment.
“Just as we are already witnessing in Lagos, the ongoing push toward private participation in water and wastewater infrastructure is proceeding through shady processes that limit democratic scrutiny and weaken public accountability,” it said.
CAPPA’s demands
The organisation called on the Lagos State Government to suspend the procurement until full disclosure is made and all required documents are published.
“The Lagos State Government should immediately suspend the mini and micro waterworks PPP procurement until full compliance with statutory disclosure obligations is achieved, alongside the prompt publication of all outstanding procurement documents, including feasibility studies, RFP documentation, bidder identities and track records, and evaluation criteria.
“There should be an independent review and oversight to safeguard procedural integrity and public interest, as well as genuine public engagement and stakeholder consultation in all decisions concerning water governance and infrastructure management in Lagos State.
“Finally, the state must urgently correct the brazen and ongoing violations of its own transparency framework.
“Transparency obligations in water governance are statutory. The Lagos State Government cannot simultaneously claim adherence to PPP disclosure standards while conducting one of its most consequential water infrastructure procurements in secrecy. Compliance with the law is the minimum condition for legitimate governance of public resources,” CAPPA said.
The group maintained that publicly funded and democratically managed water systems remain the most accountable model and urged residents, civil society groups and labour unions to closely monitor developments in the state’s water sector and defend transparency and public interest.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
