The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Water Corporation

  • El-Rufai dissolves Board of Water Corporation

    The Kaduna State Government has dissolved the Board of the State Water Corporation and appointed, in its place, an Interim Management Committee, headed by Mr Sanusi Maikudi.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr Samuel Aruwan, made the disclosure on Wednesday in Kaduna, in a statement.

    He said  Maikudi would serve as the Acting Managing Director of the Water Corporation.

    “Maikudi, who has vast experience as an entrepreneur, business development service provider and public servant, is expected to ensure that the Water Corporation abides by its reform programme and attains expected results,” said Aruwan.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the government also approved the appointment of Fatima Ladi Abdullahi as Company Secretary of the Water Corporation.

    Prior to this appointment, Maikudi was the Managing Director of the Kaduna State Investment and Finance Company,

    Born in Kafanchan in 1964, Sanusi Maikudi graduated with a degree in Architecture from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1987.

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    Maikudi has more than 30 years of experience across many sectors.

    He also holds a 2005 MBA from ABU and has worked as the Katsina Centre Manager for the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), where he served as a Senior Special Assistant on Project Monitoring to the Governor of Kaduna State, from 2003 to 2007.

    Meanwhile, Mrs Abdullahi was a principal state counsel in the Kaduna State Ministry of Justice.

    The new company secretary studied law at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and was called to the bar in 2003.

    Aruwa, however, stated that Gov. Nasir El-Rufai has expressed the gratitude of the State Government to Dr Ishaku Shekarau and other members of the former board of the Water Corporation for their service to the state.(NAN)

  • Water corporation hails govt on retirement benefits

    Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Mr. Muminu Badmus has hailed the government for assisting the corporation to settle retirement benefits.

    Badmus, an engineer, who spoke yesterday at LWC’s head office in Ijora, Lagos at the 1st Retirement Benefit Bond Certificate Presentation, said the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration had demonstrated that it was interested in people’s welfare.

    He said: “I am delighted because this event is happening during my tenure as the managing director of the largest water producer in sub-Saharan Africa. This day sees the fulfilment of the promise I made when I came on board in October 2015 to remit deductions from employees’ salaries to their retirement savings account.

    “Our appreciation goes to the Lagos State government and to the Director-General of Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC), Mrs. Folashade Onanuga, for their assistance and intervention towards settlement of retirement benefits of our pensioners who retired from 2008 to 2014 under the Contributory Pension Scheme.

    “A bond payment of N323,483,374.97 was presented to 149 of LWC pensioners, who retired between 2008 and 2014 by the Lagos State government through LASPEC under the Contributory Pension Scheme.

    “We praise the government for its support and like Oliver Twist, we are appealing for assistance through LASPEC for the payment and settlement of outstanding pension contributions, retirement contributions and death benefits of LWC workers, which is over N500million.”

    Badmus said under the new scheme, the corporation had spent N68million on 36 retirees, “whose bond certificates will be presented today.”

    His words: “I’m happy to inform you that this scheme reduces the waiting period for contributors to access their Retirement Savings Account, because this Retirement Bond Redemption Fund Account is funded by the government/employer with a monthly contribution of 7.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent of monthly personal contribution of the employee, totalling 15 per cent.”

     

  • Lagos: no plan to privatise water corporation

    Lagos: no plan to privatise water corporation

    The Lagos State government has said it has no plans to privatise the State Water Corporation.

    Commissioner for Environment Babatunde Adejare made the clarification yesterday.

    Adejare said rather the government would partner the private sector to build water works under Public Private Partnership.

    “I want to say that we are not privatising Lagos State Water Corporation. I want that to be clear. We know it is expensive to build water treatment plants. We are constructing on Adiyan II. Already, we have Adiyan Water Treatment Plant I already working,” he said.

  • Community protests against Water Corporation’s activities

    Community protests against Water Corporation’s activities

    Residents of Iludun, a boundary community between Ogun and Lagos states, yesterday protested against the activities of Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) in the area.

    Nobody was allowed to go in or out of the premises.

    They claimed that the waste water from the corporation has been destroying their houses and other valuables.

    In a chat with The Nation, the community’s representative, Evangelist Olaide Odulana, said:  “We are protesting against the perpetual suffering inflicted on us by the LWC. For a very long time, the waste water coming from this water works has been destroying our houses and other valuables.  The channel the water passes through has been blocked for a very long time and they have refused to do the regular dredging. We are suffering a lot and to make matters worse, our children can no longer go to school. We want the Lagos and Ogun states governments to come to our aid.”

    An old woman, who simply identified herself as Alhaja Leke, said she has lost virtually all she laboured for to the corporation’s activities.

    In an emotion-laden voice, she said: “This water was not here when I bought my land. This problem started eight years ago due to the negligence of the management of the corporation. A good part of the building is in bad shape. I now manage in my sitting room because the water has destroyed the remaining rooms. I can’t leave here because my husband’s and daughter’s graveyards are here. At times when the volume of water coming into the house is very heavy, I abandon the building and go to the mosque in front of my house to sleep. It is worrisome and moves me to tears.”

    Another resident Blessing Olayinka said: “The water has destroyed our uniforms, books and educational materials, thus making it impossible for us to go to school. We are pleading with them to rectify the problem and save our educational life that is hanging in the balance.”

    Security men prevented reporters from reaching the corporation’s management.

  • Water corporation chief promises regular supply

    There will be regular water supply in Lagos soon, Group Managing Director (GMD)/ Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC), Mr. Muminu Adekunle Badmus, has said.

    Badmus, an engineer, over the weekend at the corporation’s headquarters in Ijora, Lagos blamed irregular water supply in the last few days on the vandalism of gas pipelines in the Niger Delta, which affected electricity supply.

    Apologising to Lagosian, Badmus said: “No responsive and responsible government will ignore an issue as important as water without a proactive plan that will proffer a solution to the challenges occasioned by lack of water in an urbanised state like ours.

    “We know that the population is increasing. We know that water demand is high. On our part, we are working to ensure that this essential service is effectively and efficiently delivered. The unstable water supply has become a source of worry because the state has put the facilities needed in place to ensure potable water supply, but the erratic power supply from the national grid and the Independent Power Plant (IPP) affected water production and supply.

    “But we are not relenting in our efforts to ensure that water runs in every home. This is our desire and we are committed to it.”

    The corporation, he added, has reconnected some of its waterworks to the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) and generators, despite the high cost of diesel.

    Badmus said: “We take this opportunity to appeal to residents to be patient, as we are working to ensure water supply in every part of Lagos. The corporation has just inaugurated Mosan Okunola Mini Waterworks, which will produce two million gallons of water per day and Otta Ikosi Regional Waterworks that will produce four million gallons of water per day to complement the production capacity of existing water facilities.

    “In addition, LWC has completed arrangement with investors to implement commercial water distribution kiosk projects as a pilot scheme to install, manage and generate revenue from the venture, using prepaid meters.”

    Badmus said LWC has an installed production capacity of 210 million gallons per day (mgd), adding that the three major surface water treatment plants of Adiyan (70mgd), Iju (45mgd) and Isashi (4mgd) had a combined production capacity of 119mgd with the balance from ground water treatment plants-mini and micro waterworks.

    According to him, the total installed capacity can only meet about 49 per cent of the present demand of 540 million gallons per day.

    Badmus said the state’s population of about 20 million is projected to hit 29 million by 2020, making it the third largest megacity after Beijing and Mumbai.

    He stated: “Water demand by 2020 will be 733 million gallons per day. This is why the government has developed Lagos Water Supply Master Plan as a road map and employed pragmatic approach by building more waterworks and expanding reticulation across the state to guarantee water supply to every home. The government has started the building of Adiyan Phase II of 70 million gallons per day. It will be completed by the end of the year.

    “Negotiation is on with investors on the construction of 100mgd Odomola Water Scheme Phase I. When completed, water will be in abundance in the state. I urge those involved in illegal water supply and vandalism of water pipes to desist. This is not safe, as experience has shown that illegal connections and uncertified water source lead to cross contamination in water and result in water-borne diseases, such as gastric-flu that may lead to cholera, diarrhoea, among others.

    “We advise the public to report anyone engaged in illegal connections to water mains through the LWC help line or customer care line: 07015973012 or our email: info@lagoswater.org.  Supply of potable water to every home in Lagos is a pact the government has signed with Lagosians, and the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration is committed to that pact.”

  • Water Corporation allays public

    Water Corporation allays public

    The Managing Director, Lagos State Water Corporation (LSWC), Shayo

    Holloway, has assured residents that there is no cancer-causing substance in the water they take.

    He said the claim that the corporation is supplying water containing higher level of iron and lead, particularly to residents of Ijora-Badia, is false.

    Holloway told reporters that some professionals from the corporation and the Water Regulatory Commission visited Ijora Badia and took samples of water from different locations for investigations.

    He said: “Following thorough investigation and laboratory test, none of the samples contained either iron or lead. We are, therefore, confident that the consumers of the Corporation’s water at Ijora-Badia and indeed other parts of the state are not in any way exposed to lead or any other cancer-causing chemical.

    “Among the operational activities of Lagos Water Corporation, the treatment of water supply is of paramount importance. For this reason, our Quality Assurance Department carries out routine tests on water served to the public. It also monitors and tests the source of water from which our treatment plants produce water.”

    The provision of wholesome water, he added, means that chemicals used for treatment do not allow obnoxious substance to get into the water.

    Holloway highlighted the activities of illegal vendors, stating how they adversely affect the corporation’s operations.

    He said most vendors engage in unprofessional laying of service lines, adding that they indiscriminately connect pumping machines to the Corporation’s main pipes. Where the pipes are broken, this may adversely affect the quality of water in that area, Holloway said.

    “On our part, though we have been monitoring the activities of water vendors; presently all hands are on deck to strengthen our monitoring activities, not only in Ijora-Badia but throughout our service areas across the state. Lagos Water Corporation will further enforce good sanitary standards in the immediate environment around tertiary pipes and public water in the state,” he added.

  • Lagos not divesting from Water Corporation

    Lagos not divesting from Water Corporation

    The Lagos State government is not divesting from the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC), the Controller, Media and Publicity, Mrs. Ronke Famakinwa, has said.

    In a release, she said reports insinuating that there is a  planned “Privatization of LWC” are misconstrued, adding that they are based on inadequate information.

    In allaying the fears of those who may have been misled by the publications, she stressed that the Lagos State government has never at any time considered the sale or divestment of any of LWC water assets.

    She explained that the Public Private Partnership (PPP) law of 2004, only seeks to partner  with the private sector for accelerated development of water infrastructure to meet the current water demand in Lagos State, which presently stands at 540 million gallons per day (MGD).

    “In order to address the current water demand deficit and meet the projection in the very near future, LWC developed a Water Master plan to take the state from its current 210MGD to 745MGD by year 2020, through the development of additional large water schemes, taking raw water from Rivers and the Lagoons for treatment into potable water.  The estimated cost of this is projected at $3.5 billion dollars.  An investment which the State government cannot solely undertake.  It will take the State government 2 ½ years to fund this; with every naira income going into the water sector only!  With other equally demanding sectors (Health, Education, Security and Social services, among others.”

    Mrs. Famakinwa  pointed out that  due to the huge investment involved, coupled with the growing population of the state, it became imperative to partner with investors, both domestic and foreign to develop existing water assets to make water available to all.

    She said such investments will be recovered over a negotiated concession period of several years in order to make water tariff affordable to the public, adding that concessions usually range from about 20 to 30 years depending on size of investment, and financial model.

    She said other government agencies, including the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency; Office of PPP,    Lagos state Water Regulatory Agency and Lagos State Ministry of Justice, are working with the LWC to ensure due diligence, transparency and fairness both to the investor and the public.

    “The Management of Lagos Water Corporation unequivocally reiterates that the State government is not divesting or selling off water assets.  On the contrary, it is a strategy to grow our existing water assets to make water available to all!,” Mrs. Famakinwa, said.