3 weeks ago
46 ARTICLE AD
Lagos State Government logo
The Lagos State Safety Commission has urged sand miners and dredgers in the state to be mindful of the importance of their lives while at the dredging location and mining sites across the state.
The charge was given on Monday by the Director-General of the Lagos Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola, in a welcome address at the one-day stakeholders’ meeting with the dredgers and miners across the state.
Mojola maintained that the security of lives and properties was paramount, hence the law that established the Lagos State Safety Commission, especially as it related to dredging and mining.
He said all hands must be on deck to ensure there was no loss of life during dredging and mining activities.
He said, “As we all can see, some have been injured, while others have been so unfortunate to have gone to the great beyond through the compromising attitudes of some of our dredgers and miners at our various sites, hence a reason we are all here to deliberate and chart a new course for ourselves on how to live and behave responsibly in our various sites.”
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Abiola Koseegbe, who was represented by Shomilewo Okikiola, reiterated that ensuring a safe, resilient and sustainable Lagos, through the protection of lives and properties in dredging and mining sites, remained imperative to the state government.
He advised miners and dredgers to remain committed to the already established and agreed safety rules outlined by the commission and other sister agencies.
“There is no doubt Lagos State Safety Commission has put in place guidelines for all dredgers and miners, bearing in mind that safety measures can’t be overlooked and its importance can’t be under-estimated, as far as the safety of dredging and mining sites is concerned,” Koseegbe said.
The National President of the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transportation in Nigeria, Dr Tarzan Balogun, appealed that the commission should provide a standby safety boat for dredgers and miners to act as checks and balances to their operations at sites.
