Ambode: Lagosians need 720m gallons of water every day

Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos state, on Thursday said the state requires about 720million gallons of water per day, but currently has capacity to produce 210 million, leaving a deficit of about 500 million gallons.

Speaking at Lagos House in Ikeja when he received a delegation from the Manufacturers Association of led by Frank Jacobs, its president, Ambode said his administration remained committed to bridging the daily deficit of potable water in the state without inflicting tax burden on the people.

He said his government had made huge contribution to the transportation sector in the last 23 months.

The governor said ever since he came on board, conscious efforts have been made towards improving on the business environment by investing in critical sectors such as infrastructure, security, traffic management, among others.

“Just like every other infrastructure that we are trying to create in the city, water is one of them and obviously it is clear that we have a deficit,” he said.

“The city actually needs a minimum of 720million gallons of water per day and right now, there is a shortfall of almost about 500million and so our investment in water sector is continuous and very deep.

“The truth is that despite being surrounded by water, the infrastructure that drives the water to become a drinkable item is huge and we do not want to tax people to death and at the same time within the limited resources in a recession, we are faced with that challenge of wanting to redistribute the limited resources in the various sectors and sometimes the gap is yet to be filled in that sector.

“I do recognise the fact that we need to be on top of our game in terms of providing water and I also recognise the fact that we are not yet in a place where we ought to be but again, we must understand that within that shortcoming, government tries as much as possible to find a way to create laws or create an enabling environment to allow water to be available everywhere.”

Ambode said the intention of laws regulating the water sector was not to bring any inconvenience to the people, and that government would be willing to put measures in place to resolve any issue amicably with the aim of making businesses to continue to operate in the State.

He also reiterated his commitment to continue to engage with the private sector through various platforms as well as the corporate assembly which the state had already put in place to interface with the business community.