The financial institutions were sealed by the Ekiti State Ministry of Environment and National Resources for failure to respond to their Environmental responsibility.
Speaking with reporters in Ado-Ekiti, the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources Erelu Tosin Aluko-Ajisafe said the state law mandates business owners to obtain an Environmental Impact Assessment Certificate before establishment but the sealed banks defied the law.
She said:”All Cooperate and Private business owners who violate this law will be sealed; they will be reopened on payment level. We have written to them all; the banks, the malls, and eateries have been given 43 days’ notice and none of them have responded,” she added.
Also, the General Manager of Ekiti State Environmental Protection Agency (EKSEPA), Olukayode Adunmo, said the “Ekiti state government law, which is Environmental Protection Agency law stipulates that before any construction is carried out in the state you have to obtain Ekiti State Environmental Impact Assessment Certificate.
“The situation of most of the banks is that buildings were constructed without necessary permit from the Ministry of Environment. Having gone through our record in conjunction with Ekiti State Internally Generated Revenue, we can not find their names on the website of Ekiti State government, so we must carry out this exercise whether they actually did it or they are in contempt of the law.
He also explained that the exercise will extend to other sectors, including shopping malls, eateries and so on, noting that over 34 facilities are liable to be closed until they pay fines and process their procurement form.