The Dirty List: Kanu Nwankwo’s hotel and the 29 other churches, mosques, facilities sealed for air, noise pollution
The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) is on rampage against air and noise pollution.
That’s the reason it gave for sealing the following “dirty” facilities, Monday.
About 30 “dirty” facilities were sealed in areas like Ketu, Ikorodu, Ibeju-Lekki, Victoria Island and Surulere.
1. Hardley Apartments owned by Nigerian football legend, Nwankwo Kanu (a. k. a. “Papilo”).
Kayode Bello, LASEPA’s Director of Enforcement, ordered the sealing after tests on the hotel’s generator showed the engine gave off “thick gaseous emissions.”
In other words, the smoke from the generator of the Victoria-Island-based hotel is very thick, and dangerous to our health.
Other facilities sealed for noise and other types of environmental pollution include:
2. Olorunkemi Mosque, Ketu;
3. The Rain of Power and Miracles Ministry Church, Lekki;
4. Christ Apostolic Church, Lekki;
5. Duckland Hotels and Suites, Ikorodu;
6. Mela Rossa Club, Victoria Island;
7. Twenty-four other facilities were sealed in this regard.
Their doors and gates were chained, and plastered with LASEPA sticker.
“The environment belongs to every one of us,” LASEPA General Manager, Rasheed Shabi, said.
“Lagosians need to live in peace. A survey was carried out by an international organisation and it was discovered that 60 per cent of Nigerians have hearing problem.
“LASEPA, in the last two to three years, has been conducting surveys on religious houses, and our findings revealed that 95 per cent of them do not have approval to operate in Lagos.
“Most houses and club houses do not have fiscal planning approval. Before you can build any hotel anywhere in the world, there must be an environmental impact assessment.
“Most of the markets we have in Lagos State, we have people using trucks to sell their products with speakers to disturb the peace of Lagosians. Soon, we will tow as many trucks as possible to get them off the streets.”
“After today, the enforcement unit will go round. Anybody that breaks the seal has violated the Lagos State law. We will then involve the Ministry of Justice,” Shabi said.
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