Members of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) have accused the management of the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) of systematically crippling the corporation to pave way for privatisation.
At a media briefing held in Lagos on Tuesday, January 22, 2019, the activists frowned at the development, saying they would ensure that the alleged act is nipped in the bud.
Comrade Isimeme Eboh of AUPCTRE said: “The management of the LWC continues to de-motivate workers through incessant retrenchments and no new recruitments to fill vacant offices. We believe all these actions are deliberately been carried out to frustrate staff and pave the way for privatisation.”
Ayodele Akele, executive director of Labour, Health and Human Rights Development Centre, submitted: “The Lagos government and management of LWC are nurturing a major crisis if they think they can allow the LWC to collapse to pave way for privatisation. The general public will resist it because we know the neglect of the corporation workers is deliberate. We anticipate the governorship candidates will react to this expose of the sleaze in the corporation.”
Akinbode Oluwafemi, deputy executive director, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, said: “We want to thank AUPCTRE members for standing firm in the face of brazen intimidation. It is disheartening that the water sector is allowed to slide even when the state government’s internally-generated revenue is now close to N60 billion monthly. It is now time for Lagos residents to ask questions.”
