Written by Lawal Jamiu A.

Ogun State House of Assembly through its Committee on Environment has called for an immediate and permanent solution towards addressing the issue of waste discharge from the Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone, Igbesa, in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area, following the Committee’s on- the -spot- assessment of the environmental impact caused by companies within the industrial zone.

The oversight visit, led by the Chairman of the House Committee, Hon. Samsudeen Lawal, in company of the Minority Leader Lukman Adeleye and Hon. Adebisi Oyedele, was a follow-up to a petition submitted by the Igbesa Central Community Development Association, alleging that the management of the Free Trade Zone had deliberately channelled wastewater and effluent from its factories into the community, submerging farmlands and destroying livestock and property.

During the inspection, the House Committee examined the canal receiving the waste discharge and assessed the surrounding environment; where it observed that swamp dredging and decontamination works were already underway to mitigate the damage.

In their reactions, Community representatives, Alhaji Sadiq Animashaun and Ganiu Bankole, expressed concern over the activities of the companies; describing it as a blatant disregard for the health and livelihood of the residents of the host community.

Reaffirming the Assembly earlier resolution on the matter, the Committee directed the management of the Free Trade Zone to establish a functional effluent treatment plant and construct concrete water channels as lasting measures to safeguard the community and prevent any acts that could cause environmental degradation in the future.