Ondo State Government has directed all companies carrying out mining activities in the state especially those in the solid minerals sector to obtain clearance for their operations from the State Environmental Protection Agency, ODSEPA, in order to continue to carry out their operations unhindered..

The Special Adviser to Ondo State Governor on Environment, Mr  Oyeniyi Oseni gave the directive at a meeting with the companies carrying out quarry activities in the state in Akure.

Oseni said ODSEPA,  will not stand by or look the other way to see the environment destroyed without recourse to human and biodiversity safety.

In a Press Release by ODSEPA’s  Director of Media and Advocacy,, Bolu Ajijo, Oseni who gave  Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, a thump up  for resuscitating ODSEPA after many years in comatose said the sectoral engagement which he has started will be a continuous one.

According to him, the engagement was to  intimate the quarry operators on the activities  of the agency, its laws, regulations and powers and to know the operators in order to build a synergy and  cordial relationship beneficial to all concerns.

He said unlike some  states like Lagos and Ogun that established a functional Environmental Watch Dog Agencies over the years side by side with the  Ministries of Environment, the  absence of agency like ODSEPA  in Ondo state  has caused alot of havoc to the biodiversity and ecosystem as nobody was on ground to monitor and enforce environmental compliance regulations in the state.

Oseni advised the quarry companies in the state to embark on community engagements before and when they started their operations  to reduce areas of frictions between them and their host communities.

Oseni who told the operators that there was no place to hide promised to robustly engage the Federal Mining Officer in the state to ensure an harmonious relationship between all the stakeholders.

Earlier, the Administrative Secretary of the Agency, Prince Korede Giwa underscored the need for all stakeholders in the quarry business to be on the same page because their activities were injurious to the environment especially the chemical and explosives being used for blasting.

Giwa warned that it won’t be  business as usual as  operatives of ODSEPA Monitoring and Compliance Department will be paying unscheduled visits to all companies operating in the state to ensure strict compliance to Environmental Audit Report and Monitoring to ensure a safer and healthier ecosystem for all.