A coalition of civil society organisations, neighborhood teams and commerce unions has threatened coordinated mass resistance throughout Lagos State if the federal government strikes to seal home boreholes or prosecute residents for extracting groundwater with out authorisation.
The coalition, underneath the Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition (OWORAC), comprising greater than 50 nationwide and regional organisations, mentioned any try by the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LASWARCO) to criminalise family boreholes could be resisted by authorized action and mass mobilisation throughout the state’s native authorities areas.
The warning adopted public issues over a press release attributed to LASWARCO Executive Secretary, Oluwabukola Adeyemo, which reportedly described drilling boreholes and extracting groundwater with out authorities authorisation as unlawful and liable to property sealing and felony prosecution.
In a press release, the coalition demanded an instantaneous clarification of the fee’s enforcement plans, arguing that the 2017 Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law expressly exempts home boreholes from licensing necessities.
The teams cited Section 253(1) of the regulation, which allows residents to assemble wells and boreholes in residential premises for family water provide with out acquiring a licence.
They additionally referenced Section 259(2), which requires authorisation for boreholes meant for business and industrial use.
The coalition accused the federal government of threatening struggling households regardless of its failure to offer satisfactory public water infrastructure.
It cited Lagos Water Corporation information displaying 34,424 registered connections, representing roughly 1.03 per cent direct protection in a state with greater than 20 million residents.
According to the teams, greater than 91 per cent of the inhabitants stays inadequately served by the general public water community, regardless of main investments in water infrastructure.
They additionally criticised what they described as unequal regulatory remedy of households and multinational corporations, together with Nigerian Bottling Company, Guinness Nigeria and FrieslandCampina WAMCO, alleging that the fee had beforehand allowed years of engagement over industrial compliance points.
The coalition additional raised issues about groundwater contamination in communities similar to Baruwa, Iludun and Ajegunle, in addition to sewage air pollution and saline intrusion in coastal areas.
It urged the state authorities to rehabilitate present waterworks, prioritise common entry to secure public water and direct stricter enforcement in the direction of industrial polluters and high-volume business water extractors.
The teams additionally opposed the proposed privatisation of the Lagos Water Corporation, insisting that water entry ought to stay a basic public service.
They referred to as on neighborhood associations, labour unions, youth organisations, artisans and market teams to stay organised in opposition to any try to seal residential boreholes.
The coalition warned that any entry by process forces into communities to demand permits or seal home boreholes would set off coordinated authorized and mass action throughout Lagos.
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