The Lagos State Government has alarmed residents in the Lekki axis with a shocking revelation that those relying on boreholes for water may be consuming heavily contaminated underground water.
Speaking at a recent stakeholders’ meeting, the Permanent Secretary of the Office of Drainage Services and Water Resources, Mahmood Adegbite, issued a blunt warning, saying:
“Everyone digging borehole within the Lekki axis is probably drinking what I will call ‘shit water.’”
The startling statement has drawn outrage across the state, with many residents and public health experts questioning how the situation was allowed to reach such a crisis point.
Lekki, one of the fastest-growing urban areas in Lagos, is largely populated by residents who depend on private boreholes due to the absence of government-supplied water. However, experts say years of unchecked urban development, poor drainage, and inadequate sewage systems have led to groundwater contamination.
Adegbite stressed that unless wastewater in the area is properly treated, it will continue to seep into underground water sources, posing serious health risks.
“If wastewater is not properly treated, the result is waterborne diseases, especially when it mixes with groundwater that people drink without purification,” he said.
The revelation has left residents furious and anxious, with many demanding urgent government intervention.
“This is frightening. Are they just realizing now that our children may have been drinking sewage water all along? Where is the testing? Where is the solution?” a concerned resident of Lekki Phase 2 told Lagos Reporters.
Public health advocates and environmental experts are now calling on the state government to immediately conduct free water testing for homes using boreholes in Lekki, enforce proper waste management regulations, and provide alternative access to safe drinking water.
They also demand that the government stops giving media soundbites and instead implements lasting solutions to the ongoing environmental and health threats facing the region.