Renecon Limited has pledged to support Epe fish farmers with the sum of N5m in order to boost fish farming.
The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Anthony Bademosi, stated this on Friday during a reconciliation meeting between the firm and Epe fish farmers.
In March 2024, in a video that went viral on social media, tilapia fish farmers in Epe claimed that the activities of Renecon were responsible for the deaths of the fish in the Ebute Afuye Cluster in the Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State, which was reported by The PUNCH.
Giving an update on the incident, Badamosi, who spoke at the event through the company’s lawyer, Mr. Ademola Owolabi, explained that before the investigation was carried out, government agencies, unfortunately pandering to emotions and public sentiments, attacked Renecon and unleashed an unprecedented media assault against the company.
According to him, the press was awash with cloned and compromised pictures of dead fish.
He stated that the damaging pictures were later found to have been culled from oil pollution in Central America, adding that public opinions were shaped against the company without any shred of investigation.
Badamosi emphasised that the company is glad that their insistence on a thorough investigation was later accepted by Lagos State, and today, “the result of that investigation has shown that the incident at Epe Fishing Cottage could not have been attributed to dredging activities of Renecon Limited.”
He lamented that though the investigation report was not given the same prominence as the accusation and condemnation of Renecon, the company is happy that truth prevailed at last.
“As a mark of support for this initiative, Renecon is contributing the sum of N5m to support sustainable fishing in Epe,” Badamosi said.
He mentioned that the payment is not an admission of liability but, as a concerned corporate citizen, “it is our belief that Lagos will be better when we all contribute our quota to its development.”
Badamosi said Renecon has unjustly suffered reputational damages due to unsavoury tactics of employing social media to malign the company.
“We are not responsible for the death of fishes at Epe. We do believe that now that the truth is known, relevant agencies will collaborate to remove water hyacinth from the waters so that fish and fishing can thrive,” he concluded.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee, Sesan Olanrewaju, announced that Renecon Limited has been cleared of the allegations.
“Following the conclusion of the investigation by the MIREMCO committee on the above subject matter, we write to inform you that Messrs Renecon Limited, the dredging company alleged to be responsible for the kill, has been cleared by the investigative committee,” he said.
He explained that the clearance arises from laboratory analysis by the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, which clearly showed that only faecal matter was present in the water samples obtained.
Olanrewaju highlighted that water hyacinth, which formed a green carpet look, contributed largely to the suffocation of the fish.
The MIRENCO boss mentioned that the dredging site was observed to be over two kilometres from the shoreline.
“Therefore, the death of caged fish was not due to dredging activities. Rather, the death of these fish is largely attributable to variables like infection from the unkempt marine environment of the cluster, poor water quality, contamination, and heating of the lagoon due to climate change,” he said.
He reiterated that consequently, to create a harmonious working relationship between the dredging company and the concerned stakeholders and fish farmers, “the company, through the efforts of MIREMCO after mediation, has graciously undertaken to assist with the sum of N5m to sustain the peaceful co-existence between concerned parties and as a contribution and part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.”
