The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), on Wednesday, met with leaders of religious institutions in a bid to discuss ways of curtailing noise pollution from worship centres.
The meeting, which was held at Alausa, came on the heels of an earlier engagement with nightclub and bar owners as part of the agency’s campaign to clamp down on the menace of noise pollution in the state.
In his welcome address, the General Manager of LASEPA, Babatunde Ajayi, described the meeting as a platform for stakeholders to reach a common ground that accommodates everyone.
He stressed that it was vital for all Lagosians to imbibe worship practices that did not infringe on the comfort or well-being of other residents.
He said, “At LASEPA, we have the sole mandate of ensuring we manage pollution across Lagos. Pollution comes in different forms — there is air, there is land, there is water. The one that we get the most complaints about that concerns religious organisations is air, more specifically, noise pollution.
“This is what we have come here to discuss. From the data we have this year, we have over 2,500 reports from across Lagos alone; at least half of them are about religious organisations. So, we must sit down and discuss these issues, sort them out one after the other, and bring different perspectives to the table so that we all understand what the law says and how we can go about peaceful coexistence”.
In their response, the religious leaders present at the meeting commended LASEPA for providing the platform to discuss issues surrounding noise pollution in the state. They promised to abide by the regulatory framework on air pollution as stipulated by the agency.
