Lagos cautions illegal tank farm operators

Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Urban Planning and Rural Development, has enjoined tank farm operators, especially at the Kirikiri axis of the state, to legalise their operations before the end of February 2021 and revert to the ministry.

This was conveyed in a statement on Friday signed by the Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Mukaila Sanusi.

Sanusi urged the operators to reciprocate the understanding showed by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and resume discussions on how to actualise their approvals and their Corporate Social Responsibility to their bases of operations.

He also said that the state government on Thursday sealed five Container terminals along the Kirikiri coast for operating illegally without recourse to the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law.

According to him, the sealing of the terminal was the outcome of a special enforcement exercise coordinated by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, in conjunction with the Lagos State Waterways Authority, adding that the structures were becoming ubiquitous along the coastlines.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Idris Salako,bstated that container terminals were operating without the approval of the state government, while their operations had been observed to constitute a menace to the watercourse of Lagos.

The commissioner added that no such operations with serious potential impact on the physical environment could be allowed to go on without proper regulations.

Salako explained that the container terminals that were sealed had been claiming to have Federal Government’s approval to operate but could not present on demand any permit legalising the location of their facilities.

“The state government had said repeatedly, without mincing words, that it was determined to halt illegal physical development in the state and give proper planning its pride of place,” he said.

Managing Director of LASWA, Mr Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, said that all activities on the state’s waterways were being controlled through constant surveillance and monitoring, which would not give room for any illegal operation that could be inimical to the progress of the state.