News
Lagos communities decry water scarcity, demand govt intervention

Some Lagos residents have called on the state government to make potable water accessible to reduce the huge amount of money spent on buying water.
They disclosed this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Lagos, against the World Water Day celebrated annually in March.
They urged the state government to reduce the spread of water-borne diseases in the state by ensuring the provision of portable water.
According to the World Health Organisation, water scarcity affects one in three people in the African region and is getting worse with population growth, urbanisation, and an increase in household and industrial uses.
While some residents attributed the lack of potable water in the state to poor management and inadequate infrastructure, others linked it to a lack of enough investment and human capital.
A resident in Akowonjo Local Government Area, Mr Ibrahim Mustapha, a businessman, who spoke with NAN, expressed dissatisfaction with the scarcity of potable water in their neighbourhood.
“I don’t know why water remains a big challenge in a state that is surrounded by large bodies of water. I am a 54-year-old man, and I can tell you that the last time I enjoyed public-sourced potable water was in my youth days.
We have had to rely on a privately generated water supply, which is not a good thing,” he said.
He called on the state government to make the water issue a priority and get it done once and for all.
Another resident, Mrs Folake Davies, a dentist who lives around Yaba, told NAN that the unavailability of potable water had led to increased household expenditure.
“This has resulted in buying sachet water for drinking and borehole water in gallons for other domestic use. This has added an extra financial burden on residents who are already struggling and posing environmental challenges like plastic pollution.
“Water scarcity also challenges the ability of residents to keep up with sanitation and healthful living habits, while predisposing them to water-borne diseases if the use of contaminated water continues,” she said.
She called on the state government to find a lasting solution to this menace as it affects residents’ way of life.
Another Makoko resident, Mr Saheed Abbas, an artisan, lamented the hardship that members of the community faced in accessing potable water, which had made its retailing a lucrative business.
“Before residents can access clean water in Makoko, they have to trek for a long distance. Some of them even use motorcycles to get clean water,” he said.
Abbas appealed to the state government to make life easy for them with the resuscitation of potable water in the community.
A resident living in the Igando area of the state, Mrs Lydia Anjorin, a business manager, was sad with the amount of money she spent on purchasing water in the area.
“This scarcity makes us spend significant amounts of money on bottled water and rely on potentially contaminated water sources, impacting our health and hygiene.
We demand that the authorities take steps to improve water access by building new water treatment plants, repairing existing systems, and implementing water conservation measures,” she said.
Mr Kayode Aderibigbe, a Lekki resident, expressed his frustration with the area’s water shortage.
“We often go without water for days, and when it’s available, it’s not even suitable for cooking or drinking. I was recently forced to relocate my family to my in-laws’ home due to a two-day water outage. I had to stay at one of my properties in Magodo just to take a bath.
The situation in Lekki is really disheartening,” Aderibigbe said.
However, for Mrs Ese Ayanwun, a resident of Lekki, access to clean water has become a reality in her area due to the efforts of the local water works.
Ayanwun said a water storage tank had been installed in her house that provides them with a reliable source of clean water.
“This initiative has brought significant relief compared to when we had previously struggled with water scarcity and contamination,” she said.
NAN reports that other areas such as Ajah, Ajao Estate, Ebute Metta, FESTAC and others also lack access to potable water.
A general physician, Dr Tunji Akintade, says lack of access to safe water leads to a wide range of health problems, including waterborne diseases, malnutrition, and increased vulnerability to infections.
Akintade stressed that safe and adequate water facilitates the practice of hygiene, critical to prevent morbidity and mortality, especially among children and vulnerable populations.
According to him, contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to the transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and numerous neglected tropical diseases.
“Safe and readily available water is crucial for public health, whether it is used for drinking, domestic use, or food production,” he said.
He urged the government to improve access to clean and safe water to enhance the health of citizens.
However, efforts to reach out to the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Water Corporation, Mr Anifowoshe Rasaq, for his comment proved abortive as his number has not been responsive as of the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, NAN reports that the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, in a report, has assured Lagos residents of a constant water supply by 2027.
Wahab said this when he took a tour of the Adiyan Phase 2 ongoing water project at Iju area of the state.
Wahab, who was impressed with the ongoing work, expressed optimism that Lagos residents would soon be enjoying uninterrupted water supply.
He said that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, had decided that the water problem must be solved.
“To solve the water problem, we had to come to Adiyan 2, which is a 70 million gallons per day project and the biggest. We have mobilised the contractor, so we just came here to see what they are doing so far, and I am glad the media men took the walk too.
“With 70 million gallons, and then we have Iju with Adiyan 1 alongside micro and mini water works, the majority of Lagos houses and homes will have pipe-borne water, which is our target, and we are looking at sometime in 2027,” he said.
NAN
Crime
BREAKING: Ibom Air Passenger Charged for Assault, Remanded in Prison

Comfort Emmanson, a passenger who allegedly assaulted airline staff aboard an Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos, has been formally charged and remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Facility.
The update was shared by Tunde Moshood, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo. He made the disclosure in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.
The incident comes amid growing concerns over unruly behavior at Nigerian airports. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) recently announced plans to intensify enforcement, warning that such actions will become more frequent due to the rise in disruptive passenger conduct.
This development follows a separate incident involving Fuji music icon King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (popularly known as KWAM 1), who reportedly tried to stop a ValueJet flight from departing after he was deboarded.
News
Kogi Civil Servant Lauds Ododo, urges action on pending requests
Governor Ododo’s visionary leadership has been a game-changer for Kogi State, and his commitment to transforming the civil service is evident in the progress made so far.

By Abah Benjamin Eneojoh
Kogi State Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, Barr. Muhammed Musa Tanko, called on the State’s Governor, Aljaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, to approve pending requests that would further boost the morale of civil servants in the state.
Barr Tanko made the call today during a momentous occasion marking the Civil Service Week.
Barr Tanko acknowledged that under Governor Ododo’s leadership, Kogi State has made significant strides in transforming the civil service.
He cited a few examples of the progress made so far to include digital transformation, implementation of the National Minimum Wage, payment of salaries and leave bonuses, and gazetting of the Kogi State Vigilante Service personnel into the state civil service.
The state government has also established the Kogi State ICT Development Agency, headed by a Director-General, Dr. Bashir Tenuche, to drive digital innovation and development.
However, the chairman acknowledged that challenges persist in every system.
Issues of capacity, resource constraints, and bureaucratic bottlenecks are some of the challenges that need to be addressed.
Moreover, retirement from service is creating a vacuum that threatens to disrupt operations, and a robust succession plan is needed to mitigate this risk.
Barr. Tanko humbly called on His Excellency to look at the following requests with penetrating idea of clarity and approve them.
These include pending promotions for deserving and qualified civil servants in respect of years 2023, 2024, and 2025, training for MDAs in compliance with global best practices, training for the Comptroller-General and management team of the Kogi State Vigilante Service, and recruitment of staff to bridge the gap between junior and senior staff.
Governor Ododo’s visionary leadership has been a game-changer for Kogi State, and his commitment to transforming the civil service is evident in the progress made so far.
With these requests approved, the state civil service is poised to achieve even greater heights, and the people of Kogi State will reap the benefits of good governance.
As the civil servants of Kogi State celebrate this week, they do so with hope and optimism for a brighter future.
With the leadership of His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, and the dedication of the civil servants, Kogi State is set to achieve greatness. God bless His Excellency, God bless the Head of Civil Service, Pastor Elijah Adeiza Evinemi, CFA, PhD., and God bless the civil servants of Kogi State!
News
LASPA and LASBACA Seal BetterMart Supermarket Ajah Lagos
The facility manager and the workers were wisked off by the agencies.

•Rowdy scene of LASPA Enforcement officers seal Better Mart/ Ohibaba.com
Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA) and its sister agency, Lagos State Building Control Authority , on Monday at 11.45am , swoop down and sealed Better Mart, a supermarket on Badore road, Ajah , Lagos; claiming regulatory infractions.
The facility manager and the workers were wisked off by the agencies.
Ohibaba.com scoops that the property ,owned by a business woman was purchased at the cost of over N170 million, then refurbished.
One of the agencies enforcement officer prattled that the owner of the supermarket had been invited to their office Alausa, Ikeja, adding that she will likely pay N20 million as regulatory infraction before they unseal the property.
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