Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Mr Ola Oresanya, speaks with BANKOLE TAIWO about the government’s efforts to address the recurring gas leaks in and around Ijebu-Ode, which have left more than 200 students requiring medical attention over the past two months
There have been repeated gas leak incidents in Ijebu-Ode and its environs over the last two months, raising public health concerns. What happened?
Well, if you look at the gas leakage in Ijebu-Ode, it was something very unusual. Although Ogun is a highly industrialised state, Ijebu-Ode is not one of the cities with a high concentration of industries.
So, our suspicion did not initially point towards industry. If it had been happening in Sagamu, Ewekoro, Ota or other industrial towns, the thinking might have been that some companies were releasing something into the air.
Carefully, we listed possible sources and started eliminating those that could not be responsible. We eventually ruled out industrial activity.
