By Edu Abade
The Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) and the Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) have described the hasty payment of compensation and other benefits to the illegally disengaged staff of the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) by the state government as a peremptory move to stall the reversal of the unpopular decision and clamour for investigation of the Corporation’s finances since 1999.
A statement issued by the LWC yesterday had commended Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for settling the emoluments and for bringing succour to the Corporation by the payments of all emoluments from August 2011 to October, November and December 2016 till date. The Accrued rights (bond) of the Corporation’s retirees up to December 2022, was also allegedly settled.
But AUPCTRE and RDI said the House of Assembly had agreed to intervene in the matter and will be meeting with the leadership of AUPCTRE in the state this week hence Sanwo-Olu should have waited for the outcome of their negotiation.
A petition by AUPCTRE, the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC) and the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) included recommendation for a probe of the finances of the corporation that were allegedly mismanaged by successive managements of the LWC since 1999.
Secretary of the Lagos State Chapter of AUPCTRE, Abiodun Bakare, queried the haste with which by the Lagos State Government settled the emoluments when the issues at stake revolve around the breach of due process in sacking the 391 employees and others.
“We have protested to the Lagos State House of Assembly to demand the reversal of the ‘illegal’ sack and the House has promised to look into the matter. So, why is the executive arm of the government jumping the gun through this action?”
Also, Executive Director of RDI, Philip Jakpor said: “The speed with which the state government settled the emoluments is surprising and seems more like trying to arm-twist everyone into accepting the ‘illegal’ action.”
Jakpor maintained that the sack of the workers on the grounds of redundancy was illegal and illogical, insisting that the woes of the Corporation have nothing to do with the employees, as the LWC is understaffed and the waterworks across the state undermanned.
“The tone of the LWC statement commending Governor Sanwo-Olu for settling the emoluments in such a hasty manner after the protest by AUPCTRE is celebratory and clearly exposes the determination of the promoters of privatization in the highest quarters of government to consolidate the failed privatization models for which the sack of the employees was carried out,” he added.
The groups, therefore, urged the Lagos State House of Assembly to remain undeterred in its promise to address the issues to ensure that innocent workers do not end up as scapegoats for the actions of individuals who are playing out a script which has an endgame of privatization of Lagos water services.
They also re-echoed their demands which was submitted in a petition to the Lagos State House of Assembly. They include the unconditional reinstatement of all disengaged staff of the LWC; Probe of all the water projects and contracts awarded in Lagos since 1999; Blacklisting of identified contractors and recouping of all monies diverted, as well as a halt to the ongoing privatization plans of water in Lagos and termination of all partnerships and collaborations that aim to foist water privatization on the state.
