Lagos sachet water producers deny strike

Table water producers in Lagos State have dismissed reports of a strike by producers and suppliers, assuring residents that potable water remains available as they conduct a three-day sanitation exercise to ensure the safety and quality of sachet water.

In a phone interview with The PUNCH, the Lagos State Chairperson of the Association of Table Water Producers of Nigeria, Omolabake Mosaku, said the exercise involved producers in selected neighbouring zones and did not affect the entire state.

Mosaku urged residents not to panic over possible water scarcity, assuring them that distributors still had supplies and that producers outside the affected clusters continued to supply water.

“We are not on strike. We are carrying out an exercise to make sure Lagosians are sure of whatever they are taking. Safety first in whatever we do,” Mosaku said.

She explained that producers in Agege, Alimosho, Egbeda, Ifako-Ijaiye, AIT, Alagbado and Iyana Ipaja had agreed to dedicate three days to cleaning their facilities, carrying out sanitation and checking their production processes.

The ATWAP Lagos chief noted that the exercise would also enable producers to inspect their facilities, conduct laboratory tests on their water and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements before resuming production.

Mosaku said the association had made it a priority to ensure that its members produced hygienic and wholesome water for public consumption. “Our goal is to produce good water for the populace. It is our culture to ask all our members to test their water and maintain a clean environment to ensure that hygienic and wholesome water reaches the public,” she said.

The ATWAP chairperson said the exercise also provided an opportunity to identify operators who flouted established production standards, including those operating from unsuitable premises.

She explained that the association used the exercise to enforce its “know your neighbour” initiative, which involves checking nearby producers to establish whether they meet the requirements of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission.

Mosaku said the checks covered NAFDAC registration numbers, the validity of certificates, and compliance with the relevant production guidelines. She added that the ATWAP Lagos chapter executives regularly visited factories to ensure that producers complied with regulatory standards and prevent the circulation of unsafe products.

• VIDEO: Indian man assaults truck drivers in Lagos
• Seyi Tinubu calls for youth inclusion in govt policy, decision-making
• EFCC arraigns Nigerian-American over $680,000 vehicle import scam

The chairperson cited the need to guard against adulteration and the activities of illegal operators, warning that some producers might manufacture sachet water under unhygienic conditions.

She said the association did not announce the exercise in advance because doing so could give unregistered or non-compliant operators time to shut down their facilities and evade inspection.

“You know why we don’t put people on notice? Pure water is what we produce every day. By the time you put people on notice, those people we are actually looking for will shut down, and we will not be able to get them,” Mosaku explained.

She added that the exercise would allow the association to identify non-compliant operators, educate them on the required standards and ensure that their facilities met the necessary conditions before they resumed production.

Mosaku said the association expected the exercise to last three days, subject to confirmation by its executives that inspections had covered the affected areas and producers had met the required standards.

However, she apologised for any inconvenience the temporary shutdown might cause residents, insisting that the association prioritised consumer safety. “We are sorry if it is going to inconvenience anyone, but safety first. It is essential that consumers are sure of the water they drink,” she said.

Explaining why the exercise covered only selected parts of Lagos, Mosaku said the state had 20 ATWAP zones, which the association grouped according to their proximity to make inspections easier and more effective.

She said the association had avoided a simultaneous shutdown across Lagos to prevent a disruption in the state’s water supply. “We are not doing this in the whole of Lagos State at once so that we don’t starve people of water,” Mosaku said.

She added that neighbouring zones would continue to coordinate their sanitation exercises to strengthen monitoring and ensure that producers complied with the required standards.

The association maintained that the exercise was a quality-control measure rather than an industrial action, urging residents to remain calm as producers worked to ensure the safety of packaged drinking water in the state.