The Ogun State Government has said it will conduct free lead poisoning tests for residents of Ogijo, particularly those living around the six Used Lead Acid Battery, ULAB, recycling industries and their workers.
Recall that the state government recently shut down the ULAB recycling industries and temporarily suspended ingot exports from the state following a viral video alleging lead poisoning in the Ogijo community.
The Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, disclosed that a “Lead Testing Centre”, staffed with medical experts and fully equipped with the necessary medical equipment, has already been established at the Ogijo Primary Health Centre and will commence operations on Monday.
Coker made this known when she, alongside her counterpart in the Ministry of Environment, Dr Ola Oresanya, led a state government delegation comprising medical and environmental experts from the Ministries of Health and Environment, as well as the Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency, OGEPA, to the Ologijo Palace.
She urged Community Development Associations, CDAs, and the Ologijo-in-Council to sensitise their members on the importance of the lead test, encouraging them to seize the opportunity to know their lead status.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, announced that a process audit of the seven ULAB industries, including steel industries in the town, will commence this week. He added that any company that fails the process audit will be shut down indefinitely until it complies 100 per cent with the newly recommended processes.
He therefore called on executives of the Community Development Associations to set aside the economic benefits they derive from the companies and cooperate with the state government in enforcing industrial environmental standards. He stressed that this is not the time to play politics with the good intentions of government, but rather a moment to prioritise health, welfare and well-being.
Oresanya also counselled the CDAs to stop selling land for industrial purposes within residential areas, stating that the government will not approve the construction of industries in such locations. He advised prospective industrial developers to situate their businesses within designated industrial clusters.
In response, the Ologijo of Ogijo, Oba Kazeem Olaonipekun Gbadamosi, represented by the Lisa of Ogijo, Sunday Lawal, thanked the state government for its timely intervention and the provision of free lead testing for residents of the town.
Meanwhile, some CDA chieftains—Adesina Adeyemi, Ganiu Tiamiyu, Gboyega Usman and Tunde Rufus—pleaded to take the message back to their members for better understanding and assured the state government of their full cooperation.