Five Industries shuts over environmental infractions in Ogun State

Ogun State government through the state Environmental Protection Agency said five industries have been sealed for contravention, disregard for state environmental laws and endangering the lives of the immediate communities where they operate.

This was contained in a statement on Sunday issued in Abeokuta, the state capital by the Chairman of the Ogun State Taskforce on Environmental Compliance and Enforcement, who also doubles as a Senior Special Assistant to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Environment, Farook Akintunde.

According to him, the companies are Nixim Paper Limited, and Long Xiang Aluminum both at the Sagamu axis of the Lagos -Ibadan Expressway, New Shidai Manufacturing Limited, Mowe in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area and two unregistered companies operating illegally in the Ogere axis of the Lagos -Ibadan Expressway.

He said the companies were shut after the Environmental Protection Agency received petitions from the immediate communities of their incessant discharge of untreated wastewater into the environment.

“This was confirmed by the state environmental protection agency which issued a Stop Work Order for them to stop production and correct the anomaly” he said

“Instead of them to obey the order, they ignored it and continued to degrade the environment with the discharge of their harmful untreated wastewater into their immediate communities,”

“The state government was therefore left with no options than to shut them down in the overriding public interest and compelled them to stop their harmful environmental practice as it was also discovered that they don’t have Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP) which they must have and installed to stop their incessant and harmful wastewater discharge”

Lending his voice to this development, the Special Adviser to the Governor on State Environmental Protection Agency Dr Oluwadare Kehinde, said the company will now be forced after several warnings to abide by wastewater regulations in the state, which is crucial towards the prevention of water pollution and maintaining water quality standard.

“The state environmental protection agency will not compromise on this as it will continue to demand from industries best environmental standard in all they do as enunciated in the Ogun State Green Book which contains the laws guiding environmental practices in the state,” Kehinde stated.

“For the two unregistered companies sealed along with the three others, the Special Adviser said they must do proper registration with the state government and fulfil other operational obligations before they can be allowed to operate in the state” he concluded.