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The ‘ponmo’ (cow skin) processing section of the Oko-Oba abattoir and Lairage Complex in Agege, Lagos has been sealed off by the Lagos state Government.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Toyin Suarau, said in a statement that the closure became necessary because of the unhygienic method being used by the processors.
The statement read:
“The ponmo processors use heaps of burning tyres, thereby, emitting thick toxic smoke into the air endangering residents of the adjoining neighbourhood. This bonfire emits a thick toxic smoke which spreads from within the complex to adjoining neighbourhoods, endangering the lives including those of the processors themselves. I wish to make it clear that the use of tyres for cow skin processing was reported to the State government sometime ago and was dealt with. The return to this unhygienic method of processing in the complex leaves much to be desired and this is why the state government has closed the ponmo section of the complex”