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Residents of Unity Layout located on Eleyele-Eruwa road, Eleyele, on Tuesday cried out for help and sent a Save Our Soul(SOS) message to Governor Seyi Makinde over air and water pollution currently being experienced in the area following the commencement of operations by a Chinese-owned plastic and metal recycling company.
According to residents, the company solely owned and operated by a Chinese, have caused untold hardship like noise, high level of vibration due to operation of heavy machines, air and water pollution among other environmental hazards in the neighbourhood since it began operation in January 2019.
Apart from the various forms of pollution, about 10 houses in the area have been affected since the company started operations.
The residents stated that they have made efforts to curb the incessant pollution being experienced in the area and have sought assistance from the state Ministry of Environment and Water Resources and National Environmental Standards And Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).
“In our efforts to arrest the situation, the landlords, have sought the assistance of the relevant ministry in Oyo and a federal agency- Ministry of Environment and Water Resources and National Environmental Standards And Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).
“Part of this made the Director General of NESREA, Professor Aliyu Jauro, to pay visit to the company and the neighbourhood in July, ” the statement said.
The residents also said they wrote a petition to the House of Assembly, saying the matter has been discussed at plenary with the members visiting the company and the area.
They added that they decided to call the attention of the governor to the problem bacause it seems there is no end in sight to the problem and that the company has been threatening the residents with eviction from their homes.
“In addition, members of Oyo State House of Assembly have discussed the issue at the plenary and had also visited our area as well as the company.
“When respite seems not coming, we wrote a letter to the Governor of Oyo state, Engineer Seyi Makinde to come to our rescue. We call on our dear governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, to kindly bail us out.
“This call is necessary following threats coming from the company that they have what it takes, support of the government officials and finance to evict the landlords who had occupied the area for decades now from the neighbourhood.
“We believe that such a company should be situated in a remote village. Unity Layout has been homes to hundreds of Nigerians for decades.
“A pointer to this is a notice of eviction said to have emanated from Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development flying around.
“Once again, we call on Governor Seyi Makinde to save us from forceful eviction from our homes simply because we exercised our fundamental right by complaining about activities of a recycling company,” the statement said.