Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, has emphasised the critical importance of water to Lagos’ economy, describing it as a natural resource, a blessing, an ally, and the future of human existence that must be carefully managed and protected.

Wahab made this known during the Fela Debates 17, held on Monday at the NECA House, Ikeja, Lagos, as part of activities marking Felabration 2025.

He explained that the Lagos State Government recognises the delicate relationship between humans and water — not just as a force of nature but as an enabler of life and progress.

According to him, the theme of the event, “Water (No) Get Enemy,” is particularly fitting because, for centuries, water has shaped Lagos’ economy through trade, fishing, transport, and settlement. He added that water lies at the heart of several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including SDGs 6, 2, 11, and 13.

“The statement may sound simple, but it carries wisdom as old as humanity itself,” Wahab said. “Nobody can live without water, nobody can truly fight against it because water is life itself.”

He stressed that Lagos is a city that lives and breathes water, warning that fighting against it is “a battle already lost.”

The Commissioner highlighted the unique climate challenges facing the state, including rising sea levels, extreme heat, and recurrent flooding. He said this reality informed the government’s design of a comprehensive Drainage Master Plan to safeguard the city and mitigate flooding.

However, Wahab lamented that residents often act in defiance of environmental laws by building on floodplains, blocking drainage channels, and reclaiming wetlands. He said such actions, largely driven by personal gain, violate the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law of 2017 and contribute to man-made disasters across the city.

He cited recent flooding incidents in Parkview, Banana Island, Osborne, Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki, Ajah, and other areas, describing them as preventable and a direct result of human negligence.

Wahab warned that the state government will no longer tolerate such violations, vowing to enforce environmental laws strictly to protect lives and properties. “There will be no hiding place for defaulters and saboteurs,” he stated, adding that the government would not fold its arms while a few individuals endanger the larger population for selfish reasons.

He further disclosed that beyond the ban on single-use plastics, the government remains committed to sustainable waste management solutions. According to him, Lagos recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Jospong Group to convert waste at the Olusosun dumpsite into wealth and replicate the initiative at the Epe landfill under the Harvest Waste programme.

Wahab added that in collaboration with C40 Cities, the state has launched a biogas facility at Ikosi Fruit Market, which converts 500kg of fruit waste daily into clean energy. He noted that the market now enjoys consistent street lighting, access to cooking gas, and phone charging stations — all powered by waste.

Despite the commencement of operations at the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery, Nigeria remains heavily dependent on imported petrol, with new data showing that imports accounted for 72.64 per cent of total national consumption in the last nine months.

According to figures released by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), the country consumed about 12.5 billion litres of petrol between October 2024 and July 2025. Of this figure, 9.08 billion litres were imported, while 3.5 billion litres came from domestic supply, mainly from the Dangote Refinery.

The report revealed that despite earlier hopes of achieving energy self-sufficiency through local refining, Nigeria continues to rely significantly on foreign supply. In October 2024, for example, the nation imported 40.43 million litres per day, amounting to 1.253 billion litres that month, while the Dangote Refinery supplied only 7.09 million litres daily, representing 14.9 per cent of total consumption.

Although domestic production briefly increased early in 2025, the gains were short-lived as operational disruptions caused local output to decline again. In January 2025, import dependence dropped to 56.3 per cent, with Dangote supplying 592.1 million litres, its best performance so far. February and March recorded similar improvements, with domestic output maintaining an average of 45 per cent of national consumption.

However, production faltered from May 2025, when the Dangote plant’s supply fell to 472 million litres, pushing import reliance back up to nearly 72 per cent. By July, the refinery’s contribution had dropped to 31.5 per cent, following a labour dispute that temporarily halted operations.

The report noted that despite being Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria still struggles to provide local refineries with sufficient crude feedstock. The Dangote Refinery, for instance, imported nearly 20 per cent of its crude from the United States in 2024 due to local production constraints.

Energy experts have continued to stress that without adequate crude availability and pipeline security, achieving self-sufficiency in fuel production will remain difficult.

Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (AEC), NJ Ayuk, said the continent faces a $15.7 billion shortfall in energy infrastructure investment. He warned that regulatory hurdles across African countries were worsening the situation. “You can send crude and LPG across borders, but an African holding an African passport can’t move freely,” Ayuk stated.

The Guardian reports that several African nations have intensified efforts to construct or rehabilitate refineries to reduce import dependence — a development that could heighten competition for Nigeria’s refining ambitions.

According to recent announcements, Ethiopia, Senegal, Angola, Mozambique, Djibouti, Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa and Uganda are all advancing refinery projects that could collectively add over one million barrels per day of capacity, potentially rivaling Nigeria’s Dangote and NNPC refineries.

In Ethiopia, work is progressing on the Gode refinery, a 70,000-barrel-per-day facility being developed with China’s Golden Concord Group (GCL). Senegal has also unveiled plans for a second national refinery costing between $2 billion and $5 billion, targeted for completion by 2029.

Angola’s Cabinda refinery is set to begin production in the second half of 2025, starting at 30,000 barrels per day and expanding to 60,000 barrels in subsequent phases. The country’s Sonaref project, with a planned capacity of 425,000 barrels per day by 2027, ranks among Africa’s most ambitious. Similarly, Uganda’s Hoima refinery, which recently secured an implementation agreement, is progressing toward construction, though its first phase may not commence before 2028.

Other ongoing efforts include Ghana’s 45,000 barrels-per-day Tema refinery, which resumed operations in 2024, and Egypt’s Midor expansion, which increased capacity from 100,000 to 160,000 barrels per day.

Meanwhile, several countries are focusing on restoring damaged or dormant plants. In Cameroon, reconstruction work continues on the Limbe refinery, which has been inactive since a 2019 fire. Ghana’s Tema refinery is also undergoing full maintenance for an imminent restart.

In Libya, the Ras Lanuf refinery (220,000 barrels per day) remains pending restart, while in South Africa, the Engen refinery is being converted for new use, and Sapref, the country’s largest plant, remains mothballed. The Ivory Coast is building a new diesel unit to boost both domestic and regional supply.

Experts say these developments represent a turning point in Africa’s refining history — a mix of large-scale new construction and recovery from years of industrial neglect.

The African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) estimates that Africa needs at least six refineries of Dangote’s scale to meet its rising demand and achieve energy independence. ARDA’s Executive Secretary, Anibor Kragha, cautioned that the continent still faces a wide refining deficit, worsened by weak regulation and limited financing. “Africa’s vulnerability to fuel price shocks will persist until refining investment matches consumption growth,” he warned.

Population growth and economic expansion are expected to intensify demand for fuel, deepening the economic and security implications of the refining shortfall.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) projects that Africa faces a $100 billion refining investment gap over the next 25 years. Of this, $40 billion will be required by 2030 for new refineries, while $60 billion will be needed for upgrades and expansions thereafter.

OPEC also forecasts that Africa’s domestic oil consumption will rise from 1.8 million barrels per day in 2024 to 4.5 million barrels per day by 2050, a shift that could reduce the continent’s crude exports by over one million barrels daily and alter global trade dynamics, especially for European refiners reliant on African crude.

The family of the late Bilyaminu Mohammed, who was murdered in 2017 by his wife, Maryam Sanda, has expressed strong opposition to the presidential pardon granted to her by President Bola Tinubu.

The family made their position known in a statement signed by Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed, the Dangaladiman Gwandu, on Monday.

Sanda, who was convicted by the FCT High Court for killing her husband, was among 175 inmates granted clemency by President Tinubu under the federal prerogative of mercy on October 11, 2025.

According to the Presidency, the decision followed recommendations from the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, which cited her “reformation, remorse, and the need to allow her to reunite with her children.”

In the statement titled “When Prerogative of Mercy Inflicts Inexorable Pain,” the family said the decision had reopened deep wounds and questioned the justice of freeing a person convicted of what they described as a “premeditated and cold-blooded murder.”

The family recalled that Sanda was sentenced to death by the FCT High Court on January 27, 2020, for stabbing her husband to death on November 19, 2017. They noted that the conviction and sentence were upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court on December 4, 2020, and October 27, 2023, respectively.

They stated that the family had deliberately avoided public comments since the incident out of respect for the couple’s children and faith in the judicial process, despite what they described as “several sponsored write-ups” from Sanda’s camp.

The statement read: “Although the perpetrator had shown no remorse even for a fleeting moment throughout the saga, the grieving family took solace in the judgements and moved on, having painfully come to terms with the fate that life had thrust upon one of our own.”

They said the decision to release Sanda had undone the closure provided by the court judgments, describing it as “the worst possible injustice any family could be made to go through for a loved one.”

According to the family, the move disregarded the enduring pain suffered by the deceased’s relatives and friends while attempting to “appease Maryam’s family members.”

They also faulted the reason of family appeals used to justify the clemency, stressing that “Bilyaminu was also a cherished family member who was profoundly loved and deeply mourned by his teeming relations, friends and close associates.”

The statement continued: “Maryam, let’s not forget, had earlier on denied the same children now used to elicit sympathy and secure her release, the opportunity to know what a father’s love and care means.”

The family added that they found comfort only in divine justice, noting that “the ultimate comprehensive justice resides purely with the ‘Supreme Judge and our Creator,’ who will dispense the matter on the ‘Day of Recompense.’”

They prayed for the soul of their late son and asked Almighty Allah to grant him eternal rest and guide his children.