The Ogun State Government says it will sanction companies and industries in the state that failed to put basic anti-pollution schemes in place.
Commissioner for Environment, Abiodun Abudu-Balogun, made this known while reeling out the activities of his ministry at a press conference on Monday, March 9, 2020 in Abeokuta, the state capital.
Abudu-Balogun lamented the high level of infractions being committed by some of the companies, saying government could no longer condone their acts of indiscipline.
He said that government had continually engaged most of these companies, but they failed to comply with the rules and regulations guiding pollution.
The commissioner stressed the need for the companies to conduct their activities within the ambit of the law, saying most of them do not have a good pollution control programme and “the air quality system around their premises is bad’’.
“We have an effective monitoring and compliance system in our environmental protection agency, but no matter the level of engagement we have with them, some of these companies will continue to flout the environmental laws and regulations.
“Some of them don’t even have Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP) and other pollution control programmes. Maybe the only language they understand is the big stick and we’re ready to really use the big stick.
“After this conference, I’m leading a team to seal some companies this morning. If you see the level of infractions being committed by some of these companies; they don’t put in place the basic anti-pollution schemes and the government cannot allow this to continue, so we’re going to sanction all these companies.
“The fact that they’re doing business in Ogun does not mean they should come here and kill our people.’’
Abudu-Balogun said that environmental officers would continually go out to check the attitudes of these companies and make sure they complied with the rules and regulations on pollution control.
He listed some other areas the ministry would work on to include waste management, sanitation, open defecation and beautification among others.
By Yetunde Fatungase
