Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA, has faulted the Lagos State Government for admitting that residents of the Lekki Peninsula may be consuming contaminated borehole water, describing the comment as a symptom of deeper governance failures.
The reaction follows remarks by Mahmood Adegbite, Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services and Water Resources, who acknowledged that many residents were “probably drinking what I will call ‘shit water’.”
In a statement on Sunday, CAPPA said the bluntness of the remark may have sparked public attention, but the real concern lies in the decades-long neglect of public water infrastructure that has left residents with no choice but to dig boreholes or wells. The group argued that these water sources are not luxuries, but survival measures in the absence of reliable public supply.
“The government is bad-mouthing a crisis it created,” the group stated, adding that the Lagos administration’s inability to ensure safe water supply has exposed residents to severe health risks without the authorities accepting responsibility.
CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, noted that faecal contamination, untreated sewage, and poor wastewater management have persisted for years, worsened by repeated attempts to introduce failed privatisation models.
“You cannot neglect your constitutional duty for decades, then turn around to shame people for doing what they must to survive,” he said.
“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?,” Oluwafemi added.
The organisation called for urgent public investment in water and sanitation, a halt to market-based reforms, and the adoption of a transparent, community-led governance framework. It also urged the state to develop an emergency plan targeting underserved communities, fix broken wastewater systems, and integrate climate-resilient solutions.
