Lagos State government says it has not appointed or authorised any consultant to collect water rates on its behalf, stressing that anyone doing so was in breach of the law.
The state’s position followed an allegation by Concerned Members of Association of Water Producers of Lagos State of harassment, intimidation, financial deprivation, among others, by the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission and the Association of Table Water producers of Lagos State. The group had called on the governor of the state, Akinwunmi Ambode, to look into their allegation with a view to establishing the truth.
Steve Ayorinde, state commissioner for information and strategy, in a statement on Thursday, said investigation into the petition revealed that some commercial/industrial consumers of the state’s water resources under the aegis of Lagos State Chapter of Association of Table Water Producers of Nigeria (ATWAP), had been making payments due in respect of fees chargeable on their water production/packaging operations into a bank account not authorised by the state government.
The commissioner said however well intention-ed the association’s recourse to the use of a consultant in facilitating the payment of government revenue by its members might be, it remained a procedural error, which according to him, must be discontinued with immediate effect.
“Consequently, it has become imperative for Lagos State government to clarify that it has not appointed any consultant to collect revenues on its behalf. Therefore, all water abstraction related revenues should be paid by individual water service providers into the Treasury Single Account (TSA) run by the state government.
“Members of ATWAP and the general public should be apprised of the best wishes and intention of the government to continually serve the good people of Lagos State with the highest quality of human, infrastructural, and social capital development in an atmosphere of transparency and accountability,” Ayorinde said.
