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Lagos communities decry water scarcity, demand govt intervention

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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

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Why Dantata will be buried in Saudi Arabia tomorrow

Dantata, 94, an uncle of Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, is survived by three wives, 21 children and 121 grandchildren.

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Business mogul and philantrophist Aminu Dantata, is set to be buried tomorrow (Tuesday) in Medina, Saudi Arabia after he died on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates.

Sources closed to the family disclosed that it was Dantata’s wish to be buried in a city he adored and where Islam’s prophet Muhammad lived and died.

Dantata, 94, an uncle of Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, is survived by three wives, 21 children and 121 grandchildren.

His body was set to be transferred from Abu Dhabi, where he died, to the holy city of Medina after Saudi authorities approved his burial in their country.

Background and Wealth

He was known across Nigeria for his philanthropic activities.

Last year, he donated 1.5 billion naira ($972,000; £710,000) to victims of the devastating floods in north-eastern Borno state.

His business interests cut across agriculture, real estate, construction and manufacturing.

He first made his name in agriculture, starting trading kola nuts and groundnuts in the 1940s.

He came from a business family – his father Alhassan Dantata was once considered to be the richest man in West Africa.

Despite his riches, Dantata lived in one of the poorest areas of the northern city of Kano, like his parents before him.

His influence was also felt in politics, with politicians eager to seek his blessings before elections.

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ALLEGED DEFAMATION: ‎Court Grants Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan bail

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… As Trial begins September 2

Nigerian Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has been arraigned at the Federal High Court in Abuja, over alleged defamation of Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.

This is the second arraignment for similar charges, as she was also arraigned on June 19, 2025, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.

‎Like in the previous arraignment, the Kogi Central Senator has pleaded not guilty to what she is being accused of.

A six-count charge against her stems from statements she allegedly made during a live television broadcast on April 3, 2025, and in a telephone conversation on March 27, 2025.

‎The Federal Government, through the Attorney General’s office accuses Akpoti-Uduaghan of claiming that Akpabio and Bello conspired to orchestrate her assassination.

She is also accused of making statements regarding the alleged use of organs from a deceased individual for Akpabio’s wife.

The government contends that she made these imputations knowingly or with reason to believe they would harm the reputations of Akpabio and Bello, an act deemed to be criminal.

‎At her arraignment on June 19, she pleaded not guilty to all charges and was granted bail in the sum of N50 million with one surety. The prosecution had initially requested her remand in a correctional facility, which was opposed by her legal team.

‎At the Federal High Court, however, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan has been granted bail on self-recognition, being a serving Senator. The judge, Muhammed Umar, then fixed September 22 for the start of trial.

‎Similarly, Akpoti-Uduaghan has also filed a suit challenging her six-month suspension from the Senate, and a ruling on that matter, along with contempt proceedings, is expected on July 4, 2025. Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court is presiding over that particular case.

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NDLEA nabs drugs trafficking Ex-footballer

Investigation showed that the suspect was coming from Turkey on an Ethiopian Airlines flight but transited through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he collected the luggage from another person before heading to Nigeria.

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Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an ex-international football player, Segun George Hunkarin, along with his business partner Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, over an attempt to smuggle a consignment of cocaine into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport,(MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos.

Chinedu, a frequent flyer known for transporting clothes from Turkey to Nigeria and foodstuffs from Nigeria to Turkey, was the first to be arrested upon his arrival at the Lagos airport on Tuesday, 24th June 2025.

Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said, “A search of his carry-on bag revealed 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grams were concealed therein.

“Investigation showed that the suspect was coming from Turkey on an Ethiopian Airlines flight but transited through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he collected the luggage from another person before heading to Nigeria.

Further checks revealed that an accomplice, who turned out to be the former professional footballer Segun Hunkarin, was waiting for Chinedu at the airport carpark to collect the consignment from him.

“Hunkarin, who had stayed years in Brazil playing for football clubs, was promptly tracked and arrested at the carpark.“

In his statement, Hunkarin claimed that while playing professional football in the South American country, he had only trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia but had never brought any to Nigeria.

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