Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, Lagos Commissioner for the Environment

The Lagos State Government has sealed Total Filling Station in the Akoka area of Lagos State due to alleged pollution of water sources.

This was made known by the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Babatunde Durosinmi -Etti during a Press Conference in Alausa on Friday.

Durosinmi-Etti said that the attention of government was drawn to the issue when the filling station reported the leakage of its underground tank which had caused concerns in some quarters about the pollution of water sources in the community.

He noted that the state government had promptly intervened through the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency which had prompted the filling station to correct the leakage and stop further pollution of the Environment.

“Going forward, we have directed that an Environmental Forensic Audit be immediately carried out to determine the exact source and extent of the pollution”, he said.

Durosinmi – Etti also directed immediate closure of the filling station, pending the outcome of the environmental forensic audit, adding that government would not hesitate to take any meaningful measure to protect the health and well being of the citizenry.

He called for the decommissioning of boreholes installed by Total as palliative for the affected residents, urging the management of Total to liaise with the Lagos Water Corporation for the supply of pipe –borne water to the affected residents, while further findings on the pollution were ongoing.

He stressed that the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency had been mandated to monitor and ensure the implementation of the directives given to the fuel station.