By Seyi Odewale
A rights accountability group, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has expressed disappointment over what it described as the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) management’s propaganda about the payment of entitlements to 391 workers recently disengaged by the corporation.
The group’s criticism was a response to a recent statement by the LWC Managing Director, Mukhtar Temitope Tijani, an Engineer, claiming that the corporation had, in a “remarkable display of empathy,” ensured that the illegally disengaged staff received their entitlements in accordance with public service rules.
According to the nonprofit organisation, the LWC’s attempt to whitewash its assault against helpless workers and still describe it as magnanimous was not only a ridiculous attempt to distort the truth but also a cruel mockery of the plight of affected workers, who have been callously deprived of their basic rights and livelihoods amid the current economic depression in the country.
A statement by CAPPA’s Media and Communications Officer, Robert Egbe, said: “For the sake of members of the public interested in the details of this issue and concerned Lagosians, who have a right to be made aware of the influences determining their access to publicly provided safe water, it is important that we clarify as follows:
“As far as we know from our participation in a series of meetings with the affected workers and their representatives, the Lagos Water Corporation’s decision to disengage 391 permanent staff on April 15, 2024, on the basis of redundancy, despite the state’s extensive water infrastructure projects and understaffed situation, not only violated due process but is also being actively challenged by the affected workers and members of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Lagos State Council; the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC); and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE).
“Section 20 of the Nigerian Labour Act 2004 clearly outlines the process for handling redundancy. It mandates an employer to inform the trade union or workers’ representative concerned of the reasons for and the extent of the anticipated redundancy, including adhering to the principle of “last in, first out.”
“Likewise, Section 7.23 of the Lagos State Water Corporation (condition of service) Rules 2011 clearly states that “all staff who disengage prematurely from service due to management decision shall be entitled to three (3) weeks of their terminal total emolument for each year of service as redundancy benefit.”
The LWC blatantly disregarded these legal provisions, leaving affected workers and their unions with no choice but to resist its illegal actions and shameful undermining of national laws.
“While the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) may claim to have disbursed a five-month redundancy payment to unjustly dismissed workers, we assert that this was merely a performative action mischievously approved on the eve of workers’ decision to embark on a protest on May 8,” it added.
The group then declared its support for the workers saying: “CAPPA stands in solidarity with all affected unions and workers, three of whom have tragically lost their lives as a direct result of this injustice.”
It continued: “Instead of towing the egregious path of public disinformation, we challenge the Lagos State government to rise above such petty tactics and engage in sincere conversations and negotiations with affected workers and their unions regarding the true state of affairs at the Lagos Water Corporation,” adding that the management of the Lagos Water Corporation, both past and present, must look in the mirror and acknowledge its role in the sector’s dismal performance.
It also observed that it was important for the corporation to streamline performance for efficiency, urging the state government to consider an important and honest first step towards this goal: to investigate previously mismanaged contracts awarded for the optimal performance of the sector and address its shortcomings in overseeing works contracted out to underperforming private actors and entities.
The group said it was not unaware of the secret plot behind the sacking of the workers, alleging that it was a grand design to transfer the state’s public water supply to the hands of private actors, adding that there was a piece of troubling information that the state’s water supply was on the brink of being privatised via a Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) with investors and private sector partners poised to take over the state’s water infrastructure.
says Lagos Water Corporation’s propaganda on sacked workers disappointing
By Seyi Odewale
A rights accountability group, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has expressed disappointment over what it described as the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) management’s propaganda about the payment of entitlements to 391 workers recently disengaged by the corporation.
The group’s criticism was a response to a recent statement by the LWC Managing Director, Mukhtar Temitope Tijani, an Engineer, claiming that the corporation had, in a “remarkable display of empathy,” ensured that the illegally disengaged staff received their entitlements in accordance with public service rules.
According to the nonprofit organisation, the LWC’s attempt to whitewash its assault against helpless workers and still describe it as magnanimous was not only a ridiculous attempt to distort the truth but also a cruel mockery of the plight of affected workers, who have been callously deprived of their basic rights and livelihoods amid the current economic depression in the country.
A statement by CAPPA’s Media and Communications Officer, Robert Egbe, said: “For the sake of members of the public interested in the details of this issue and concerned Lagosians, who have a right to be made aware of the influences determining their access to publicly provided safe water, it is important that we clarify as follows:
“As far as we know from our participation in a series of meetings with the affected workers and their representatives, the Lagos Water Corporation’s decision to disengage 391 permanent staff on April 15, 2024, on the basis of redundancy, despite the state’s extensive water infrastructure projects and understaffed situation, not only violated due process but is also being actively challenged by the affected workers and members of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Lagos State Council; the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC); and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE).
“Section 20 of the Nigerian Labour Act 2004 clearly outlines the process for handling redundancy. It mandates an employer to inform the trade union or workers’ representative concerned of the reasons for and the extent of the anticipated redundancy, including adhering to the principle of “last in, first out.”
“Likewise, Section 7.23 of the Lagos State Water Corporation (condition of service) Rules 2011 clearly states that “all staff who disengage prematurely from service due to management decision shall be entitled to three (3) weeks of their terminal total emolument for each year of service as redundancy benefit.”
The LWC blatantly disregarded these legal provisions, leaving affected workers and their unions with no choice but to resist its illegal actions and shameful undermining of national laws.
“While the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) may claim to have disbursed a five-month redundancy payment to unjustly dismissed workers, we assert that this was merely a performative action mischievously approved on the eve of workers’ decision to embark on a protest on May 8,” it added.
The group then declared its support for the workers saying: “CAPPA stands in solidarity with all affected unions and workers, three of whom have tragically lost their lives as a direct result of this injustice.”
It continued: “Instead of towing the egregious path of public disinformation, we challenge the Lagos State government to rise above such petty tactics and engage in sincere conversations and negotiations with affected workers and their unions regarding the true state of affairs at the Lagos Water Corporation,” adding that the management of the Lagos Water Corporation, both past and present, must look in the mirror and acknowledge its role in the sector’s dismal performance.
It also observed that it was important for the corporation to streamline performance for efficiency, urging the state government to consider an important and honest first step towards this goal: to investigate previously mismanaged contracts awarded for the optimal performance of the sector and address its shortcomings in overseeing works contracted out to underperforming private actors and entities.
The group said it was not unaware of the secret plot behind the sacking of the workers, alleging that it was a grand design to transfer the state’s public water supply to the hands of private actors, adding that there was a piece of troubling information that the state’s water supply was on the brink of being privatised via a Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) with investors and private sector partners poised to take over the state’s water infrastructure.
