LEKKI ‘SHIT WATER’ BOREHOLES: EVIDENCE OF GOVERNMENT FAILURE, SAYS CAPPA

The Lagos State Government has been indicted for failing to make provision for access to clean and uncontaminated water for residents, following a revelation by one of its top officials. The Permanent Secretary in the Office of Drainage Services and Water Resources, under the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, MAHMOOD ADEGBITE, said during a recent public event that residents of Lekki Peninsula who depend on boreholes are exposed to contaminated shit water. Following the revelation, a nongovernmental organization – Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA, said the comment by the official exposes the underlying the failure of the state government. In a statement by its Media Officer and Communication, ROBERT EGBE, CAPPA said that the government was bad-mouthing a crisis it manufactured, stressing that boreholes and wells in Lagos are a survival response of a people forced to become their own service providers. CAPPA argued that rather than mock residents for drilling boreholes, the government must first confront the root cause, which is the chronic neglect of the Lagos State’s public water infrastructure. The group noted that the problem of “faecal contamination, poor wastewater management, and untreated sewage is not new, but are symptoms of a water governance and sanitation system that has been deliberately left to rot, while decision-makers flirt with discredited privatisation models that place profit above people.” CAPPA said: “What is missing is not a diagnosis of the problem, but a comprehensive, transparent, and publicly accountable plan to fix it.” CAPPA stressed that it has repeatedly raised the alarm about Lagos’ crippling underinvestment in public water infrastructure, the lack of transparency in water governance, and the persistent attempts to impose private sector-led water models — many of which have failed in other parts of the globe. It added that the government now appears to be reviving market-based water reforms without public consultation or accountability, warning that Lagos cannot continue down this road. “You cannot neglect your constitutional duty for decades, then turn around to shame people for doing what they must to survive,” said Akinbode Oluwafemi, Executive Director of CAPPA. “When the state cannot provide clean and safe water, people will do what they must to survive. The question we must ask is: What is the Lagos State Government doing to ensure that its citizens no longer have to drink contaminated water, or live in fear of the next outbreak of disease?” The group called for urgent and dedicated public investment in water and sanitation, suspension of all market-based reforms, and adoption of a publicly led, community-focused water governance framework. It urged the Lagos state government to convene residents, civil society, and relevant experts in an open and transparent process to co-develop a people-centred water policy. It further demanded a state-wide emergency plan that targets underserved communities, repair broken wastewater systems, and integrate climate-resilient approaches to water access and drainage. The organisation noted that while regulation of indiscriminate borehole drilling is important, “it cannot happen without first providing viable and accessible public water alternatives.” “Lagosians are not to blame for drinking unsafe water. They are victims of policy failure. This failure must be acknowledged and corrected not weaponised to justify even more anti-people reforms,” it concluded.