LASIMRA orders firms to submit facility maps

The Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIIMRA), has ordered all the service companies operating in the state approximated two weeks from today to submit statistics and maps on their existing underground facilities, especially Information and Communication Technology (ICT) service providers.

General Manager, LASIMRA, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, who made this disclosure in Lagos, weekend, said companies operating in Lagos, has up till December 22, 2009 to submit their statistics and maps on any existing underground facility.

He said, the agency has vowed to sanction operators who fail to comply with this time limit, just as he listed some of the operating companies to include all telecommunications, electricity, water and gas companies that have existing underground facilities in its domain.

Igbokwe also said the order has is imperative to enable the agency properly coordinate and harmonise such facilities, hence it is aimed at using the statistics to adequately confront the problems of damage to underground facilities that may be caused by contractors handling various projects in the state, including road projects for government and corporate bodies.

He promised that the statistics are not to be used in calculation of company’s income tax.

“For the umpteenth time and for the avoidance of doubt, we wish to reiterate that it has no pecuniary or tax undertone. It has nothing to do with tax or levy as the state’s monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) profile has improved considerably and remains enviable among the 36 states comprising the Nigerian nation,” he said.

According to Igbokwe, LASMIRA is making this request on all gas, electricity, water and telecom companies operating in the state to forward to the agency, individual statistics and maps on their existing underground facilities in the state.

As said by him, the maps should be forwarded in hard and soft copies and to reach the agency on or before Tuesday, December 22, 2009, stressing that the information from the statistics would be useful to the agency for record purposes in 2010, while soliciting their compliance to enable LASIMRA serve them better in the coming year.

Igbokwe said the agency was worried that service operating companies were slow in their responses to the issue, having written them initially on the subject matter.

Quoting the reference number of the letter written to service operating companies early in the year as LASIMRA/CS/18/VOL.11/286 dated March 24, 2009, requesting affected companies to make submissions to the agency on or before April 18, 2009, Igbokwe said “it is un-gratifying to note that none of the affected companies responded to the earlier request.

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