Ikorodu residents Condemn Price Water Price Hike

Oct 16,2011 – The residents of Ikorodu in Lagos State have urged the state government to provide potable water in the town to ensure a downward review of the recent raise in the price of sachet water there.

Some of the residents condemned the increase by the retailers from N5 to N10, and alleged that sachet water producers and retailers were exploiting the scarcity of potable water in the town.

Bukola Lawal, a teacher, said that water remained a basic necessity of life and should be affordable to the masses.

“I strongly disapprove of the increase in the price of pure water (sachet water) because it is not everyone who can afford to pay N10 for it,” she said. “Pure water is the closest hygienic water for most families here, thus, it should be affordable.”

Bisi Olatoye, a sachet water seller, said that the increase in the cost of a sachet of water resulted from an increase in the price of a bag of the product from N50 to N70. “We have no option because the cost price will determine the selling price,” she said.

Idowu Jakande, a civil servant, urged the state government to provide water in most parts of Ikorodu to alleviate the suffering of the residents. “If there is water in most parts, it will curtail the excesses of the producers of pure water,” he said.

A sachet of pure water still sells for N5 in many other parts of the state.