Ogun govt shuts firm for releasing harmful substances

As part of its efforts to make industries operate and adopt global environmental best standard, Ogun State Government has shut down Tera Aqua Environmental Consult in Sango Ota for serious and harmful environmental infractions.

The Special Assistant to the Governor on Environment, who is also the Chairman of the Task Force on Environmental Compliance and Enforcement, Farook Akintunde, said the company was found guilty of operating under harmful, inhuman and substandard condition, as its production processes, which involved burning of tyres, had impacted negatively on the environment and the residents.

The company was also found liable for continuous release of noxious gases, untreated waste-water and suspended particles into the environment, which have caused serious environmental infractions and led to protest by the residents of the estate.

Akintunde added that it was discovered upon investigation that the company was also operating without necessary environmental approvals as well as environmental impact assessment, which was contrary to the state government’s guidelines, thereby committing serious environmental offences.

“No serious government will fold its arms and watch its environmental regulations and guidelines trampled upon. So the company will remain shut until these serious issues are resolved

“Besides these, the environmental hazards it caused residents of its immediate communities due to its harmful operation will also be looked into, as well as the suitability of its operation on the estate, as the state government lays emphasis on the well-being of residents than pecuniary gain of few individuals,” he said.

Akintunde, therefore, warned companies that despite government’s friendly posture to them, it would not condone any environmental infractions, especially those that would have direct impact on residents, urging them to obtain documents that would guide them in their operations so that they would not fall into the wrong side of the environmental laws.

Responding to the closure of the company, the Vice Chairman of Riverview Community, one of the four communities on Excellence Estate, Mr. Obanla Abel, thanked the state government for coming to their aid, “as the company’s operation has brought untold hardship to us through its incessant release of noxious gases and untreated waste water to the environment.”