…urges Participants to Prioritise Collective Interest of Lagosians
The Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, on Thursday in Ikeja, held a dialogue with dredgers and Tipper associations in the state, advising them that things must be put right to protect the interest of Lagosians.
The Special Adviser to Mr. Governor on Mineral Resources, Engr. Abiola Olowu said that the dialogue was necessitated by several petitions received from different communities about the operations of dredgers, miners and tipper drivers across the State.
He admonished the dredgers, miners and tipper drivers that Health, Safety and Environmental guidelines must be put in place at all times. ‘We noticed a lot of violations in the way dredging activities are conducted by some stakeholders here and this informed our decision to issue stop-work orders to some dredgers to restore sanity in the sector.
The Special Adviser spoke extensively on how the Sanwo-Olu Administration is passionate about the well-being of Lagosians, and why business owners must thrive in Lagos being the Centre of Excellence, insisting that the government is not chasing anyone out of business but monitoring and regulating businesses.
In the same vein, the Head of the Solid Mineral Department in the Ministry, Geologist Emilio Cardoso, specifically highlighted the havoc the dredgers and tipper drivers association have caused to the communities that accommodated them.
He explained the stand of the state government about getting the right documents from the Federal Government, saying that the government will continue to hunt after illegal dredgers and will not relent in its enlightenment campaigns until sanity is restored to the state.
Geologist Oluremi William, Head of the Dredging Unit in the Ministry also emphasised that the State Government is determined to eradicate all forms of illegal activities in the sector.
She implored the Miners and Dredgers to be proactive in supporting communities where they operate in line with their community social responsibilities and always abide by the rules and regulations guiding the dredging activities in the state.
The dialogue session was attended by the Associations of Miners, Dredgers, Tippers and Truck Drivers Association, their legal practitioner and top directors in the ministry among others.