The Social Party of Nigeria (SPN) has demanded adequate provision of potable public water supply as the only way to regulate borehole drilling in Oyo State.
SPN stated in a press statement on Sunday which was signed by its secretary, Ayodeji Adigun.
According to the group, N30,000 permit fee on borehole drilling by Gov. Seyi Makinde’s government is callous and fraudulent.
The statement reads: “the attention of the Socialist Party of Nigeria, SPN, Oyo State Chapter has been drawn to the report of #30,000 permit fee on the borehole drilling allegedly introduced by the Engr Seyi Makinde-led government of Oyo State. Unfortunately, Mr Adeyinka Ajayi, who is the chairman of Royalgem Multisection Limited and a consultant to Oyo State Government confirmed this development even though with a claim that the permit was levied on drilling companies and conceived to regulate the growing borehole drilling operation in the state.
“To us in the SPN, the argument by Mr Ajayi, that the permit fee is levied on drilling companies is weak and not enough justification for its imposition of fee. It is obvious that whatever additional cost incurred by the drilling companies will always be passed on to clients who need their services in order to draw water from under the ground mainly as a result of the government’s failure to ensure adequate provision of pipe borne water for the citizens.
“It is in the consideration of this, we condemn both the introduction of the #30, 000 drilling permit fee as well as its payment through the consultant. The permit fee will definitely lead to an increase in the drilling cost of borehole. Hence, it makes the cost of drilling a borehole far beyond the reach of a working-class family especially with the recent hike in the price of diesel and the increased economic hardship which the mass of the working but poor people in the country are going through at this present time. This has further cast doubt on the sensitivity of the Engr Seyi Makinde-led government to the plight and suffering of the mass majority of the working people in the state.
“We acknowledge that the growing rate of borehole drilling activities in Oyo state with the highest number of drilling rigs in the South West is worrisome and calls for concern and regulation. This is because drilling activities, if not checked and regulated, could constitute a potential threat to the earth crust with possible consequences like earthquake and tremor in the future. However, it is the failure of the successive pro-capitalist governments in the state including the Engr Seyi Makinde-led PDP government to provide adequate supply of public potable pipe-borne water that is responsible for the ugly situation whereby people have to depend on privately owned borehole for the household water supply.
“It is in the light of this, we strongly hold that it is an act of wickedness for a government that has failed in her constitutional responsibility and obligation to provide safe and clean water for her citizens to go ahead and impose levies as a conditionality to be satisfied before the citizens could be allowed to access water freely given by nature as alternative mean of water supply.
“In any case, the argument that the #30,000 permit charge was conceived to regulate borehole drilling operation is a blatant lie and mere excuse to justify the imposition of the levies. As far as we concerned, given the past failure and the lack of plan of the government to provide an adequate and clean public water supply, the introduction of the #30,000 permit fee is simply another avenue to enrich the so called private consultants currently in charge of the control and management of the Ministry of Water Resources . It is from this understanding that Mr Ajayi couldn’t have done anything better than to come out and put a defence for the imposition of the drilling permit fee.
“SPN frowns upon this kind of fraudulent capitalist arrangement of enriching few individuals at the expense of the general public or making the ordinary people to pay for the failure of the government. We demand the immediate cancellation of the role of consultants in the management and control of the Ministry of Water Resources and the replacement with democratic control of the ministry by the elected representatives of workers in the ministry.
“In conclusion, we hold that the only and best way to regulate the growing rate of borehole drilling operation in the state is not by imposition of #30,000 permit fee but through the adequate provisions of safe and clean pipe borne water supply for the mass majority of the working people in the state”, the statement reads.
