The Director-General of National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr. Lawrence Chidi Anukam has read the riot act to tannery operators in Kano State, warning them to desist from degrading the environment.
Dr Anukam who described Kano as a strategic industrial hub, regretted that it is now being abused and used as a hot spot for environmental degradation, a statement from the agency said.
According to him, it was rather disturbing and unfortunate that the environment is being seriously impacted as a result of their reckless attitude and disregard for environmental laws and regulations, stressing that it is a lot easier to destroy than to build.
“This cannot continue; we would not let one industry or the other pull down what we consider our common heritage,” he added.
The NESREA boss said it is disheartening and a pointer to complete disregard for human lives, a situation whereby despite repeated visits by agency officials, facility owners still refuse to comply.
“Where you refuse to do the right thing, the rules will automatically apply; we cannot fold our hands and watch, this is totally unacceptable. We are not interested in sanctions, but if we are forced to, then we shall wield the big stick”, he warned.
Dr Anukam explained that the deluge of complaints and the steady flow of negative reports about their actions had necessitated this second meeting, saying, “nobody is above the law; you need to run your industry in such a way that your activities will have minimum negative impact on the environment or none at all. ”
He however, called for the procurement and installation of anti-pollution equipment with immediate effect.
“Gone are the days when environmental rules are taken for granted; we must aim for better and cleaner environment; this is where our children are going to live, ” he said.
Earlier, the Director-General and his team had conducted an on-the-spot inspection of some facilities in Sharada, Bompai and Challawa areas, where erring facility operators were instantly queried on reckless operations.
