Osun community protests emission from steel factory

9japroperty — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 07:30:34 +0000

The people of Fashina Community in Ife Central Local Government Area of Osun State have raised the alarm over emission from the furnace of the Ife Iron and Steel Nigeria Limited located in the community.

The Chairman of the community, Rev. Jacob Fadare, who spoke in an interview with our correspondent in Osogbo on Friday, said the thick smoke coming out of the factory had made some of the residents of the community to develop some diseases, including respiratory ailments.

He said residents of the town and other adjourning communities had been inhaling dangerous smoke coming out of the factory since 2011 when the iron and steel company commenced operations.

Fadare said, “We are asking the Osun State Government to compel the company to control its emission. We are dying here in this community. So many of us have developed respiratory ailments and this is death by instalment.

“We complained to the late Ooni of Ife, we have complained to many quarters and the latest is our protest letter to the Osun State House of Assembly. We want the House to compel them to do the needful or relocate their factory.”

The Chairman, Osun State House of Assembly Committee on Commerce and Industries, Mr. Babatunde Olatunji, had raised the issue of the dangers the people of communities around the Ife Iron and Steel Company as well as those around Prism Steel Limited located in Ikirun were exposed to.

Following this, the assembly summoned the two companies as well as officials of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, Osun State Ministry of Environment, local government officials and leaders of the affected communities.

Olatunji, who represents Ife North Constituency, said during the proceedings that the hazardous fumes being emitted by the two companies could increase the number of cancer patients in the state and even beyond.

He said the people living close to the factories were inhaling poisonous gas on daily basis, while people who consumed vegetables and other crops being grown in the areas were also exposed to diseases.

Addressing the firms, he lawmaker said, “You are known to always want to circumvent the rules. And it is unfortunate that you have your people in in government agencies who are conniving with you to circumvent the rules.

“You have succeeded in growing the number of cancer patients. You know the problems you are causing but you are not interested in the health of our people.”

The Deputy Speaker, Mr. Akintunde Adegboye; Chairman, House Committee on Information, Mr. Olatubosun Oyintiloye; as well as other lawmakers berated the companies for not taking the health of the people of their host communities seriously.

But the Group Managing Director, Ife Iron and Steel Nigeria Limited, Mr. Rajiv Bali, said the company complied with relevant guidelines and safety regulations, stressing that the fume coming out of the factory was not injurious to human health.

The Personnel Manager of the company, Mr. Adeleke Oluwanisola, also said the firm carried out Environmental Impact Assessment before it started operations.

He said, “N150m worth of equipment was installed at the factory to ensure that it’s emission is within the permissible limit. Emission coming out of our factory is not as dangerous as it is being hyped.”

The Personnel Manager of Prism Steel Limited, Mr. SoyodeBabatunde, also said the company carried out an EIA and installed emission abatement device to ensure that the emission did not exceed the permissible limit.

The Speaker of the House, Mr. Najeem Salaam, said the two companies should prepare to reduce their emission and that the House would take a decision on the issue on very soon.

PUNCH.

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Ogun community protests ancestral land takeover

9japroperty — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 15:52:43 +0000

Scores of residents of Areke community in Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State have staged a protest at the Sagamu Interchange against the alleged proposed takeover of their village and the demolition of their houses by the state government.

They alleged that the takeover was to pave the way for the siting of more manufacturing industries in the area.

However, the state government through its Bureau of Lands and Survey claimed that it had paid owners of land in the area the sum of N300m as compensation.

Many of the villagers denied receiving such money, arguing that only a handful of them, mostly settlers, were compensated.

They accused the state government of being insensitive to their plight.

They also alleged that the government had already acquired 440 hectares of the community’s land mass of 500 hectares and sold it to manufacturing companies.

The villagers noted that the state government had marked out another 30 hectares from remaining 60 hectares for siting of industries, which they said would render them homeless and without any ancestral roots.

They displayed placards, some of which read: ‘Ogun State Government, please, leave our ancestral land’; ‘Leave our forefathers’ land for us in Areke, we are begging you’; and ‘Areke people are begging government to please, vacate our land now’.

The protesters appealed to the state government to shelve the planned acquisition of any part of the remaining 60 hectares of the community land and the demolition of the few remaining houses in the village.

The spokesperson for the community, Odufora Awojebe, said over 300 houses would be affected and over 1,000 residents would be rendered homeless.

He appealed to the government to consider the plight of the villagers now confronted with the loss of their ancestral home, adding that taking over the remaining 60 hectares, which included the land earmarked for the construction of schools, market and hospital, would be tantamount to exterminating the entire community.

“We know the governor as a man of the people. We voted for him during the elections. I knew him since I was working with Total. We are sure the governor knows nothing about this matter.

“Out of the 500 hectares of land the community used to ha0;0ve, only 60 is left and now they want to take the remaining and send us to the street.

“Some of the companies already operating here have yet to pay us compensation for the crops and economic trees that had to give way for them to locate their factories here. Some of them have not given even one indigene of this community the smallest job in their companies. This is our homestead, our roots and we are begging the government to leave the remaining 60 hectares for us.”

Meanwhile, officials of the Ogun State Bureau of Lands and Survey declined to comment on the matter.

Also, the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, did not pick calls made to his telephone by our correspondent, neither did he reply the text messages sent to his mobile telephone.

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