Press Releases

Lagos Set To Generate Additional 30M Gallons Of Water Daily - Fashola

Jul 24, 2008 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Thursday disclosed that the State is set to generate an additional 30 million gallons of water daily from the 15 micro water works that are currently in various stages of completion all over the State.

The Governor who spoke when he hosted the Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr Abba Sayyadi Ruma on a courtesy visit to the Lagos House, Marina added that the water works would complement the daily water supply from the Adiyan and Iju water works which currently stand at a capacity of 70million gallons of water per day.

He added that in a move towards addressing the challenge of power shortage, the state has signed an Independent Power Project agreement with a private sector concern on the provision of 12MW power by the end of the year to power the Adiyan water works.

He sought the collaboration of the Ministry of Water Resources and the Federal Government in terms of funding within the shortest possible time for the construction of a major water project with capacity to serve the water needs of the state in Odomola, Epe.

He said the Lagos State Government has successfully ensured that business and commerce returns to the Lagos Water front of Ikoyi and Victoria Island with the seriousness with which it has tackled the protection of the Lagos Bar Beach shoreline.

Governor Fashola explained that the high intensity of rain already recorded and the fact that each time a hurricane happens as it did in Texas, USA with Hurricane Dolly on Wednesday night, the ripple effect will be felt in Lagos in a fortnight, saying the State is proud of what it has achieved on the water front.

He called for a shift from the emphasis on uncontrolled sinking of boreholes especially in the rural areas, warning that such step if not controlled can negatively impact on the eco system of such areas.

The Governor said a better alternative already adopted in the State is the construction of mini and micro water works to support the supply chain.

Governor Fashola called on Federal authorities to ensure that stricter controls are effected in the management of facilities like dams adding that local and state authorities should be duly carried along are informed of developments and actions such as release of water.

He added that some months ago, the State was saddled with the task of mopping up the human and material challenges of the release of water from the Oyan dam into River Ogun resulting in the sacking of the entire Ajegunle area in Ikorodu.

Governor Fashola affirmed that the land of Lagos is more valuable for real estate and may therefore not be able to compete with states like Benue and Kwara in terms of arable farming. He quickly added however that the State’s advantage lies in marine agriculture which has resulted in the embarking on the second phase of fish farming settlement project in Ikorodu as the first phase was sold out before its completion.

Governor Fashola said the State has also identified Epe as an area that can help to improve dairy farming and has decided to liaise through the Commissioner for Agriculture to liaise with relevant bodies including those in the Scandinavian on developing the potential.

He said in the spirit of devolvement of power at the central level, the Federal agencies should only be ready to intervene to implement roadmaps already charted by agencies at the states and local level of governments instead of direct charting of such courses.

The Governor thanked President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua for introducing a spirit of partnership and dialogue in all sphere of governance, adding that for a very long time this has not happened in the country.

He added that the people and the democratic dispensation are the better and happier for it as demonstrated by the invitation of the Lagos Governor to brief the Federal Executive Council on ways of decongesting the Lagos ports access roads as well as the resolution through dialogue of the issue of repairs on the Third Mainland Bridge.

Earlier, the Minister Dr Ruma had commended the Lagos State Governor for working diligently to maintain a city whose environment support eco balance.

He added that President Umaru Yar’adua is committed to food security in the country and this has resulted in his ensuring full participation of the private sector in agriculture.

He identified inconsistencies in policy direction as one of the problems that has bedevilled the agricultural sector in the country, saying the present administration is keen to redress the anomaly through its allocation of a seven percent increase in the Budget 2008.

The Minister said he was in Lagos to attend the conference on water resources where a quarterly review of government policy on water resources would be effected.