The Ekiti State Government, on Wednesday, sealed the premises of four second-generation banks in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, over violation of Environmental Impact Assessment Laws.
The state Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) in the state’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources also sealed some business premises for non-payment of the necessary dues for EIA and audit.
The Commissioner for Environment, Mrs Tosin Aluko-Ajisafe, said the move was to restore sanity in the state, adding that the sealed premises would only be reopened when the owners did the needful.
Aluko-Ajisafe said, “Governor Oyebanji’s administration has approved the enforcement of the state Environmental Protection Law 2010 as it relates to EIA. All corporate and private business owners violating this law will have their business facilities sealed”.
She said the ministry had earlier written to the organisations but they ignored the 43 days’ notice given to them.
The General Manager, SEPA, Ekiti State, Olukayode Adunmo, said, “The state Environmental Protection Law stipulates that before any construction is done in the state, you must obtain an EIA certificate. However what we have seen in most of the banks is that at the time the buildings were constructed, they did not obtain the necessary permit from the Ministry of Environment.
“Having gone through our records in conjunction with the state Internal Revenue Service, which told us that they could not find the names of the banks as having paid the necessary dues for EIA and for audit, we have to commence this activity to certify whether they paid or they evaded the content of the law”.
