The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has called on Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu to urgently call to order the management of Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LASWARCO) for improperly sealing factories over their perceived refusal to pay in excess of N100 million for water generated by themselves for production purposes, in the face of government’s failure to supply same.

LASWARCO had imposed astronomical and unjustifiable water abstraction fees for many industries and went ahead arbitrarily to also shut down these factories for failure to comply.

Specifically, MAN opened up that till date, manufacturers are saddled with more than N1.2billion of unsold inventory, borrowing at more than 30 per cent and struggling under a debilitating 250 per cent increase in the cost of power.

In addition, MAN insisted that there are numerous taxes, fees and levies by the three tiers of government and non-state actors in some cases, numbering between 60 and 120 confront each manufacturer, not to mention the disruption of production activities due to insecurity and high cost of logistics.

Director-General of MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir made this known in a release to Saturday Telegraph yesterday in Lagos that this action is ill-timed and quite unfortunate, as the Commission and MAN had engaged in meaningful dialogue and reached some agreements over the lingering issue about three months ago.

According to him, this was expected to culminate in an MoU to commence in January 2025.

He said, “Only three weeks ago, another round of discussions took place between LASWARCO and representatives of MAN, including affected member companies, which led to ongoing discussions in the companies as to the most viable option for addressing the alleged outstanding payments from earlier contested fees.

“It is while these discussions were going on and during the Yuletide that the Commission decided to cause this major and unwise shut down of the companies.”

Ajayi-Kadir explained, ‘It is important to properly situate this inappropriate action within the context of the prevailing inclement operating environment in general and the downturn in the manufacturing sector in particular.

A situation where industries are burdened with payments in excess of N100 million for generating water for production purposes, in the face of the government’s failure to supply the same, is unfair.