LWC BOSS ASSURES STAFF OF JOB SECURITY DURING PPP IMPLIMENTATION

The Lagos Water Corporation Group Managing Director, Engineer Muminu Adekunle Badmus has assured the Corporation workers of job security.  The GMD made this assertion during the Staff forum, today at the LWC Headquarters, Ijora, Lagos. The LWC boss said “some Staff of the Corporation has been awashed with various misconceptions indicting Lagos Water Corporation of initiating privatisation policy, which will ultimately inflict hardship on the Lagos populace and Lay-off of the Staff of the Corporation”.

The GMD said “PPP initiative entails the fresh injection of private capital into the efficient management of government-owned assets, and not Privatization, which is the sale of government-owned assets to private investors as misconstrued in some quarters”. The GMD said Public-Private Partnership is not peculiar to Nigeria, and indeed Lagos. “The model is being practiced in other parts of the African continent. Surprisingly, in Cross River State, Nigeria, water supply in Calabar, Ugep and Akampa are being undertaken under PPP. He said the model was first practiced in Cote d’ivoire in 1959 with the introduction of Urban Water Affermage, a successful operation, and being embraced in other parts of the continent, like South Africa, Algeria, Uganda etc’’.  He further allayed the fears of the Staff for loosing their jobs during the implementation of the PPP Strategy. He pledged that during his own tenure as the GMD nobody will ever loose his or her job.

While responding to questions asked during the meeting, Engr. Muminu Badmus said the current situation of unstable Water supply in the State was due to the erratic power supply from the national grid and the Independent Power Plant (IPP) has continued to interrupt water production and supply as a result of current vandalization of Gas pipelines in the Niger Delta Region of the Country which has adversely affected the Production at our various Water facilities across the State.  But now, LWC has reconnected Adiyan waterworks to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) and Iju Waterworks to Generators, with this arrangement, water production has resumed and is getting stable. Engr. Badmus said very soon the Government will find permanent solution to the Gas powered IPP. He further added that LWC was also looking at other power alternative, including Solar and propane to power the waterworks.

However, engineer Badmus has assured the staff of re-introduction of bi-monthly Newsletter to fill in communication gap among the Management Staff and the entire staff of the Corporation. He said this will be a platform to discuss issues affecting the Corporation.

The GMD explained that the Corporation has commenced Operation Verification Exercise from Surulere Area of Lagos State on Thursday 7th July, 2016, as a pilot scheme, to be continued at Oworonshoki, Yaba/Ebute Metta and Iwaya Axis of the State on the 11th August 2016 and will be extended to other parts of Lagos metropolis. The Exercise is to verify LWC Customers Water problems like Over Billing, No Billing, Double Billing, No Water, Water Leakages, Non Reflection of Payments etc, in order to find lasting solution to the problems.

Engineer Muminu therefore, thanked the Staff of the Corporation for their Cooperation and understanding and reiterated that the Corporation is committed to serve Lagosians better in terms of efficient and uninterrupted water supply in the State.

Signed.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Anifowoshe Rasaq
For: Controller, Public Affairs Division.
Lagos Water Corporation
Headquarters, Ijora,
Lagos.