The Oyo State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources has arrested three members of staff of Reddis Drilling Company for violating the state’s drilling regulation.
The State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr Idowu Oyeleke, ordered the arrest of the workers while the company was drilling a borehole in Sabo area of Ibadan on Tuesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that traffic along Sabo was disrupted by the drilling making the public to lodge a complaint at the ministry.
Oyeleke who immediately went to the site, requested for the company’s drilling licence and the client’s permit to sink the borehole there which they could not produce.
He, thereafter, ordered the arrest of the workers and impounded their drilling machine, adding that any company arrested for indiscriminate drilling in the state would be prosecuted.
In his reaction, Mr Michael Ale, the National President of the Association of Water Well Drilling Rig Owners and Practitioners (AWDROP), expressed concern at the rate unprofessional drillers engaged in indiscriminate drilling in the state.
Ale said that the commissioner’s response was an indication that government had begun to listen and show concern to the association`s outcry.
He said that local businesses in Nigeria would not grow or thrive without proper regulations while banks also would not support unregulated business.
“The environment is affected and the operators who clamour for not being regulated risk not growing.
“Regulation is to protect the poor and the customer for standard operative procedure and sustainability of their borehole and provide value for money.
“Nigerians should realise that what is not regulated cannot be termed standard ,hence, they cannot complain about shoddy jobs.
Ale called on the government to ensure that any company caught for indiscriminate drilling should face the wrath of the law.
“This will serve as a deterrent to others with flagrant behaviour,” Ale said. (NAN)
