By Bilesanmi Abayomi
A Lagos community leader, Ganiyu Olamiji Oyebanjo, popularly known as GOCO, has urged the state government to restore functional public water supply before enforcing restrictions on residents who drill boreholes to meet their household needs.
Oyebanjo made the appeal in a statement titled, “Before You Seal Our Houses, Provide Us Water,” issued to Kosofe Post on Sunday, following renewed enforcement warnings by the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LASWARCO).
While acknowledging the need to regulate groundwater extraction to prevent contamination, environmental damage and land subsidence, Oyebanjo questioned the government’s public water distribution system and the availability of alternatives for residents.
He said public taps in some Lagos communities had reportedly remained dry for between 15 and 20 years, leaving households with little choice but to spend their own money drilling boreholes.
“In many communities in Lagos, public taps have been dry for over 15 to 20 years. Families had no choice but to drill boreholes with their hard-earned money to survive,” he said.
Oyebanjo said residents would support policies aimed at protecting groundwater resources but urged the government to implement them with consideration for households that lack access to reliable public water.
“Lagosians are law-abiding. We will support any policy that protects our water, but it must be done with empathy, not with threats to seal people’s homes,” he added.
He also called on the government to prioritise enforcement against commercial water factories and fraudulent drilling operators rather than penalising households seeking access to water.
“You cannot punish people for providing what you failed to provide. Water is life. Provide it first,” he said.
LASWARCO Defends Borehole Regulations
Oyebanjo’s intervention follows a warning by LASWARCO that drilling boreholes or extracting groundwater without the required authorisation is illegal and could attract penalties, including the closure of properties and prosecution.
The commission’s Executive Secretary, Barr. Oluwabukola Khadijah Adeyemo, said unapproved groundwater extraction poses public health and environmental risks.
“Drilling or abstracting groundwater without LASWARCO authorization is illegal and punishable under the Law,” Adeyemo said, citing provisions of the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law of 2017.
She warned that unregulated boreholes could undermine long-term water security and increase the risk of land subsidence.
Adeyemo reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to enforcing compliance, including sealing facilities found to be operating illegally and prosecuting offenders. She also urged residents to report illegal drilling activities to LASWARCO’s enforcement team at the State Secretariat in Alausa, Ikeja.
Residents Await Public Water Supply Intervention
The opposing concerns have brought renewed attention to the balance between groundwater regulation and access to affordable water in Lagos.
While the government maintains that borehole regulation is necessary to protect public health and the environment, Oyebanjo’s appeal highlights the challenges facing households that depend on privately drilled boreholes because of inadequate public water supply.
Residents now await clearer commitments from the state government on restoring reliable public water infrastructure, particularly in communities where households have depended on alternative sources for years.