The Ogun State Government has announced plans to offer free lead poisoning screening for residents of Ogijo, especially individuals living near the six Used Lead Acid Battery (ULAB) recycling plants and their employees.
This follows the recent shutdown of the ULAB recycling facilities and the temporary suspension of ingot exports from the state after a viral video surfaced alleging lead contamination in the Ogijo area.
According to the Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, a “Lead Testing Centre” staffed with medical professionals and equipped with the required medical tools has been set up at the Ogijo Primary Health Centre and will begin 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.
