COVID-19 Spread And Lagos Water Crisis: Stakeholders, Lagos Govt Clash Over Report

• CAPPA Insists Lagosians Need Adequate Water Supply To Stop Covid-19 Spread 
• LWC Says Most Communities Enjoying Improved Water Supply Since Covid-19 Pandemic
• Findings Corroborate The New Diplomat’s Investigation on Lagos Water’s N1.6bn Scam

The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has faulted reports by the Lagos State government that most communities in the state have been enjoying improved water supply since the Covid-19 pandemic began, describing the claim as fictitious.

Lagos — the hotspot of the Coronavirus infection in Nigeria has recorded over 2,000 cases and 33 deaths as of Wednesday, according to figures by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. To curtail the spread of the contagion in Africa’s largest city, the importance of residents having access to portable water cannot be over-emphasized this crisis time.

The Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) had, in a press statement on May 7, 2020 listed Dolphin Estate, Magodo, Ikoyi, Saka Tinubu, Victoria Island, among a host other communities in Lagos that have been enjoying its service delivery since the pandemic began. The LWC Managing Director, Engr. Mumuni Badmus also added that the identified communities commended its services.

CAPPA has however countered the Corporation’s position, calling it fictitious and insisting that its own investigation carried out in Adiyan, Iju, Epe, Isashi, Shasha, Surulere-Itire and other communities where the largest population of Lagosians reside show that the LWC facilities were near grounded and water was not available for residents.

CAPPA Programme Manager, Mrs. Aderonke Ige said: “We find it quite ludicrous that the LWC is conducting its own poll and appropriating improved services to itself to such an extent that it denies the reality that the larger segment of Lagos population does not have water to wash or even keep proper hygiene. It is very shocking”

Ige explained that CAPPA’s investigation showed that between March 20 and April 18 during the locked down in the state, none of the waterworks were functioning up to installed capacity, adding that the causes of the shutdown ranged from unavailability of diesel in the plants, to power outages, and technical hitches among others.

In the breakdown of the investigations results, Adiyan which has an installed capacity of 70 million gallons per day (MGD) only produced as much as 23.33 MGD (its highest within this period) on April 14 and this volume declined to 14.56 MGD as at April 16.

Iju with an installed capacity of 45 MGD only produced as much as 6.87 MGD on March 20th and this volume declined to 4.3 MGD on April 16. Isashi with installed capacity of 4MGD only produced as much as 2.2 MGD on April 9. This declined to 0.95MGD as at April 16. Also, Ikosi waterworks with 4MGD installed capacity did not produce any water throughout the period in review. Other waterworks visited are Epe, Agege, and Surulere-Itire.

Ige noted that the missing link thus far is the failure of state governments to build the required political will to prioritize water for citizens through comprehensive public investment in infrastructure necessary to provide universal water access, jobs, improved public health, and invigoration of the Lagos economy.

She insisted that the state of the waterworks reinforces the call by the Our Water Our Right Movement which CAPPA is a member for a comprehensive investigation of the funds ploughed into the rehabilitation of the 48 waterworks in Lagos including the N1.6 billion by the last administration in the state.

She asserted that it is now time that the Lagos government  to acknowledge the dire situation in the water sector, pull back from the misdirection that planned privatization of the sector has created, and adoption of real solutions within the realm of the public sector.

“At a time that the state government should prioritize provision of water as a check to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the last thing Lagosians need is the self-praise that the LWC is involved in. This diversion is unacceptable,” she said.

Recall, The New Diplomat had revealed circumstance and details that led to the continuous abject water scarcity in Lagos, despite the many waterworks rehabilitation contracts awarded in the past to improve water infrastructures.

In 2017, the Lagos Water Corporation awarded a rehabilitation contract to Idmon Engineering and Construction Company to carry out repairs on the three major waterworks in Adiyan, Iju and Isashi in Lagos.

The corporation got N800 million loan from the French Development Bank facilitated by the Lagos state government to embark on the project.

Also, in 2018, N792 million grant was released by the Lagos State government for the rehabilitation of 48 mini and micro waterworks in Lagos. Investigation revealed that Hakkam – B and Associates Limited and Hyses – Nex company Limited were among the nine companies who got the contract.

Following months of investigation, findings showed that four of the companies that got the contract award have not been registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and are without the capacity to deliver on such projects, something that contradicted several sections as stated in the Lagos State Public Procurement Act 2011.

Across all the major and mini waterworks waterworks, investigation revealed that the post-rehabilitation target set before the commencement of the repair works had not been met till date, but instead water production has been witnessing a downward trend. This has been making 22 million Lagos residents to suffer daily from sundry problems associated with the challenge of acute water shortage, threatening the state’s ability to fight the lethal virus-Covid-19.