₦airaland Forum

The Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LASWARCO) has sealed the factories belonging to Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, and Guinness Nigeria for extracting groundwater for commercial purposes without proper authorisation.

Speaking on Tuesday in Lagos, Olowu Babatunde, director of technical services at LASWARCO, said the commission had been engaging with the three companies for over seven years, but they had either partially complied or failed to comply with regulations, prompting enforcement action.

“We operate a law that empowers us to regulate most of these heavy abstractors in Lagos State,” Babatunde said.

“Abstractors are individuals or entities that extract large quantities of groundwater for commercial purposes.

“So, these companies that we have sealed, basically three of them – Coca-Cola, FrieslandCampina and Guinness, abstract water in large quantities.

“And we have been engaging them over time. At least, I have been here for more than seven years now. We’ve been engaging these companies for more than seven years now.

“Some, either they do partial compliance, or some don’t comply at all. So, now that we started implementation of our regulation, we now compel them to fulfil all their regulatory demands.”

On Monday, Tokunbo Wahab, Lagos state commissioner for environment and water resources, during a press briefing on unregulated groundwater abstraction, said the environmental management protection law of 2017 empowers LASWARCO to regulate groundwater activities and impose penalties for unauthorised abstraction.

Wahab explained that unregulated groundwater extraction could lead to serious environmental consequences, including land subsidence and groundwater contamination.

According to Wahab, the government in 2020 introduced a 75 percent waiver on groundwater abstraction fees, but unfortunately, many organisations failed to take advantage of the incentive.

As a result, the commissioner said LASWARCO had been forced to take enforcement action against those who hadn’t complied.

Wahab noted that LASWARCO had issued letters to non-compliant organisations, giving them a 72-hour deadline to comply, where if they fail to do so, they will face penalties for operating without proper authorisation.

yang:
These companies are strategic National production assets

No mushroom agency created in Ikeja under bridge has the right to seal a production company looking at the rate of poverty, the rate of inflation, the mass deindustrialization and departure of production companies, hunger and mass unemployment that is now rampant in Nigeria

These actions are evil

Those companies should be unsealed immediately and both company and agency should work together to meet water health standards

Stop evil

yang:
These companies are strategic National production assets

No mushroom agency created in Ikeja under bridge has the right to seal a production company looking at the rate of poverty, the rate of inflation, the mass deindustrialization and departure of production companies, hunger and mass unemployment that is now rampant in Nigeria

These actions are evil

Those companies should be unsealed immediately and both company and agency should work together to meet water health standards

Stop evil

jmoore:
So the issue is about payment? They pay the fees and you allow them to continue to extract water in commercial quantities despite the risk of land subsidence?

Mugu44:
Since Tinubu returned to Lagos extortion has increased
The drug baron needs to fund his cocaine addiction this festive season

Exousiang01:
Good.
These companies need to respect the laws of the land

lexy2014:
what is the law of the land that these companies need to respect?

Kobicove:
You will soon find yourself where you don't expect.

Do not receive yourself by thinking you have absolute anonymity here in Nairaland!

Exousiang01:
Would it kill you to read?

Mom007:
The few companies still remaining in operation in Nigeria, employing people and managing to make ends meet in your impossible economic climate yet you keep making life hard for them. Continue u hear... they will soon leave also!

How can lagos, a state surrounded by water be talking about extraction of ground water? Is there another thing that they want to use the water to do?

Mugu44:
Since Tinubu returned to Lagos extortion has increased
The drug baron needs to fund his cocaine addiction this festive season

Mugu44:
Apart from threats is there any other thing you have to offer? Channel this energy to bringing down the dollar and fuel price.

May the soul of Funsho Williams rest in perfect peace.

Amen.

Kobicove:
When did I threaten you?

I'm telling you the way it is.

You manipulated a pic of the president to give the impression that he was photographed sniffing cocaine...if the government security agencies reason your matter you go hate the day wey dem born you!

dacillin:
Hmmm........ It's your type that goes to other countries and abide by the laws there.

What does companies mentioned dare not do in Ghana, talk less of their own country.

For your info, those environmental laws by Lagos state is Internationally agree upon by treaty. So, Lagos is just slow to enforce them.

Can we say because they employed Nigerian, and use that to kill half of the lagosian? And destroy our susbstanability?