The Ogun government has shut three companies for various environmental infractions.
The Public Relations Officer of the State Ministry of Environment, Mr Rotimi Oduniyi, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abeokuta on Sunday.
He noted that the State Commissioner for Environment, Mr Ola Oresanya, ordered the closure of the industries.
He quoted the commissioner as saying the decision was part of government’s continued efforts at laying solid foundation for environmental best practices in the state.
According to the statement, the companies are Ruili Recycling Limited, Mowe, Robust International PTE Limited also in Mowe and Star Pipe Limited, Sagamu.
” Ruili Recycling- pet bottles recycling company was found guilty of discharging its wastes and storm water into their immediate environment.
” Especially in the premises of Christopher University which exposed the students to avoidable danger as well as its refusal to obtain a drainage approval to properly channel the unwanted water to appropriate place .
“The company was also discovered to be burning all its solid wastes within its premises contrary to the state’s Environmental Laws.
” Thereby exposing its workers and residents of its immediate communities to toxic and hazardous pollution as well as operating in filthy environment.
” For Robust International PTE, the company illegally demolished a fence bounding them with the same Christopher University so as to reclaim some portion of land and subsequently divert all storm water to the premises of the institution.
” Also they failed to heed government’s directives for proper remediation,” he said.
Oresanya noted that the state government would not fold its hands and watch the two industries expose the students of the institution and residents of their immediate communities to suffer from their careless environmental infractions.
Oresanya said the Sagamu company was shut after they refused entreaties to install effluent treatment plants into their facilities as they discharge raw and hydrolic acid into their immediate environment.
This, he said had led to contamination of ground water of these communities which had made the water unsafe and unhygienic.
The commissioner added that the three companies would remain shut until they correct all the lapses detected .
He said that the state government was not interested in closing them down but for them to operate according to the best global environmental standards which the state government had adopted.
