Cholera Outbreak: Ogun to conduct regulatory compliance exercises for table, sachet water producers

*Ola Oresanya, Ogun State  Commissioner for Environment, says the compliance exercises becomes necessary to address identified environmental and hygienic negligence their companies’ production processes, which is at variance with earlier certification by the National Agency For Food And Drugs Administration And Control

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Determined to get to the root cause of the recent cholera outbreak in some Local Government Areas (LGAs), and prevent future occurrence, the Ogun State Government (OGSG) is to conduct compliance exercises on all table and sachet water factories in the state.

Ola Oresanya, Commissioner for Environment, stated this during a stakeholders’ meeting comprising members of the Table Water And Beverages Producers Association of Nigeria, Ogun State Chapter, and officials of the Ministries of Environment, Health and Industries Trade and Investment at the Ministry of Environment, held at the State Secretariat Okemosan, in Abeokuta, the state capital.

A stakeholders’ meeting in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital       Photo: OGSG

Oresanya said the compliance exercise had become necessary to address the environmental and hygienic negligence detected in their production processes, a situation which the government said was at variance with their earlier certification by the National Agency For Food And Drugs Administration And Control (NAFDAC).

The Commissioner disclosed the development had resulted in cholera outbreak, which claimed some lives while other were hospitalised in the state.

He said as a responsible government, the Ogun State Government would then, conduct the compliance exercise to reinforce and domesticate their NAFDAC certification in all the twenty local government areas of the state as the team will move to all water producing factories for on the spot assessment of their production processes.

“The team will among others demand for routine microbial analysis results of their products, check the distance of their production boreholes to their and septic tanks, their operational environment as well as medical certificate of fitness of their products for human consumption.

“For clarity all registered and unregistered water producing factories will be visited and any one of them that fail the compliance exercise will be shut, and will remain so until it passed the laid down procedures before it is opened for business in the public interest,” stated Oresanya.

Exercise to safeguard public health, not to witch-hunt anyone, says Oresanya

The Commissioner, therefore, urged the industry stakeholders to support the compliance exercise as the state government is not out to witch-hunt anyone but safeguard the health of its residents from preventable water borne diseases as well set a healthy standard for their products which have suffered from negative public acceptance in the aftermath of the outbreak of the disease.

Speaking at the forum, Mr. Femi Olukoga, Chairman of the Table Water And Beverages Producers Association of Nigeria, Ogun State Chapter,  pledged his members’ support for the exercise.

Olukoga said cooperation with the state government on the forthcoming exercise would help the body to sanitise its ranks and weed out quacks, whose activities are inimical to the well-being of residents of the ‘Gateway State’.