The Ogun State Government is set to commence the verification process for the producers of table water and beverages in the state as part of moves to curb the cholera outbreak, which has killed at least 12 people.
The Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Ola Oresanya, according to a statement made available to reporters on Sunday, disclosed this during a stakeholders meeting with the Table Water and Beverages Producers Association of Nigeria held at the Ministry’s Conference Hall, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
Mr. Oresanya said that the meeting was necessary for the agency to know those who are registered water producers who are complying with the process of water production.
He said it became necessary to monitor the hygienic process of producing water products and ensure that they meet the required standard for human consumption to avert health hazards that could affect the lives and well-being of people.
“The state will not tolerate any factory that is not ready to follow the due process of production. Just because you are registered or enlisted with NAFDAC does not mean that, as a state, we will not follow up with your production process to ensure that due diligence is done to avert health issues that can affect the lives of people living in the state,” Oresanya noted.
According to him, the Ministry will collaborate with NAFDAC, the Ministries of Health and Industry, Trade, and Investment, to ensure compliance with the hygienic process of production, while periodic on-the-spot assessments will be done to fish out the bad eggs among the producers.
Mr. Oresanya also stated that sanctions would be meted out to unscrupulous beings among the producers.
Speaking on behalf of the producers, Mr. Femi Olukoya and Lawan Shobiye assured of the association’s readiness to cooperate and support the state government in ensuring the health and lives of the people are optimally protected in line with the hygienic production process of producing table and sachet water as regulated by NAFDAC and other agencies.
They both stressed that the association would not hesitate to report any of its members who are not complying with the regulated rules backing the production processes and putting the lives of the people in grave danger.
