Air pollution: NPA threatens to sanction Flour Mills

ZION Olalekan |

Following series of complaints from port users, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has said that it would sanction Flour Mills Nigeria Limited over the continual degradation of Apapa port environment and air pollution.

Stakeholders at the port had raised a serious concern about the wheat shafts and other particles emanating from the Flour Mill silos in Apapa.

Speaking with Nigeriamaritime360.com, one of the complainants and the Coordinator of Save Nigeria Importers, Exporters and Freight Forwarders Coalition (SNIEFFC) Chief Osita Chukwu noted that the wheat shafts are poisonous and that it causes cardiovascular sicknesses for port users.

Responding to these concerns at a recent stakeholders meeting in Lagos, the Executive Director Marine and Operations of NPA, Dr Sekonte Davies who represented the Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman at the meeting, said that the authority has acquired some capacity that would enable her determine the source of the pollution and apply appropriate sanctions.

Dr. Sekonte said, “The challenge we have is that when these shafts come out, you cannot determine where it is coming from, but we have now acquired some capacity which would enable us monitor effectively and determine necessary sanctions.

“What usually happens is that every one of them would say ‘it’s not me’ but all these would stop very soon, in a short while we would address it”.

Speaking with our correspondent recently, however, Chief Osita noted that his group had written severally to Flour Mills, asking them to correct the situation but there was no response.

“The environmental pollution is everywhere, we have written to them but they are adamant about it. What we have to do now is to drag them to court, that is the only way they would listen”.

“Port users would be affected because particles in the air is cancerous, all the cardiovascular sicknesses that our people are having today is as a result of that, these particles are very cancerous, it is not good as the people are inhaling it, and as they continue to inhale it, it would mess up their health status”

“We need something to be done very fast, the NPA has promised to do something but we have not seen anything being done” he lamented.