The Ogun State government has shut down Supreme Agro Limited, an agro-processing company, in Igbesa, Ado Odo local government area due to severe industrial pollution that severely damaged the ecosystem of it host community.
This move was made as part of their ongoing efforts to ensure that the environment is free of any kind of hazard.
The action followed after several complaints from the Igbesa Community and subsequent verification and warnings by the state’s environmental task force.
Speaking, the Commissioner for the Environment, Ola Oresanya, disclosed that the corporation was found guilty of industrial pollution in spite of their prior denials because they let their untreated waste water into the neighborhood , which has had a negative impact on the well-being of residents of the area.
The Commissioner noted that the company bypassed the plant and discharged the waste water directly into the community, which did not create an eyesore but had an adverse effect on the environment, instead of installing effluent plants that would contain the waste water and remove hazardous components before discharging them to surrounding water bodies.
“This is a very selfish and callous behavior on the part of the company because these waste water have hazardous components such as heavy metals in them as well as carcinogenic materials and chemicals which when they get to the environment becomes injurious to the people leading to unwarranted deaths.
“The state government will not look away from such behavior which will impact negatively on the well-being of their host community”.
He insisted on the company being closed until it restored the environment to normal, became more responsible in their manufacturing methods, and carried their host community along with their degree of remediation.
The Commissioner also commended the Igbesa Traditional Council for informing the state government of the company’s unethical environmental practises, urging other councils, communities, residents, and public-spirited individuals to join the state government in establishing proper environmental governance statewide.
Meanwhile, he cautioned businesses operating in the state that, although the government will continue to support them as the nation’s industrial hub, it will not put up with any negligence in their production processes.
He added that businesses must always act responsibly and be mindful of their immediate surroundings because the state government will always reward those that operates in accordance to global environmental best practices.
