Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) in partnership with Fumman Nigeria Limited on Wednesday organized a One Day Workshop for critical stakeholders operating in the state’s built environment to tackle the problem of environmental pollution in the state.
In his address at the maiden edition of the workshop with the Theme, ” Effective operation of Effluent Treatment Plants” , the general manager Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency , Dr. Tunde Ajayi said the aim of the workshop held in Lagos is to improve the state of the environment for a quality living in line with the vision of the present administration as encapsulated in the second Pillar of the T.H.E.M.E.S plus Development agenda, that is, Health and the Environment .
According to him, the theme of the workshop: Effective Operation of Effluent Treatment Plants is very apt and instructive, as it further demonstrates the agency’s commitment to the implementation of the state government’s policies and programmes on clean and sustainable environment that is safe, secured and pollution free for a healthy citizenry and protection of the ecosystem.
Ajayi said on assumption of office, he took an inspection tour of the state’s industrial areas especially, manufacturing organisations to inspect the way their effluents are being treated as part of the agency’s proactive measures to combat the menace of environmental pollution.
He added that, ‘’I realized that most of the Effluent Plants in those manufacturing organizations visited were either not working for mechanical faults or completely abandoned for lack of technical know- how and training on their effective operations .
‘’The implication of this is that, most manufacturing companies that have issues with their Effluent Treatment Plants either as a result of lack of technical know-how or as a result of faulty plants obviously discharge their raw effluents either directly into the drains, environment or the water bodies.
‘’This has continued to be a major threat to public health and the environment as such activities have negative impacts on human health and the ecosystem.
‘’If we therefore continue to enforce the laws on violation of the State Environmental Laws , especially on the management and treatment of effluents from manufacturing industries, without organizing a technical training like this to help ETP operators and other related officers gain the required knowledge and basic operational skills needed for effective and efficient ETP operations, not only that we will be far away from solving the problem, but we will continue to endanger the health of the citizenry , while we put the safety and protection of the aquatic animals at risk as well.’’
In his remark, the Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Environment, Mr. Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu said the government expects the companies to comply with the rules and regulations guiding environmental management in the state.
He said the present administration in the state is deliberate and proactive about the environment, lamenting that the issue of industrial effluent discharge in the state calls for a lot of concerns because the compliance level in the state is still very poor.
