Lagos: Renecon denies involvement in mass death of Tilapia fishes

The Management of Renecon Limited has debunked the orchestrated allegations against its activities as the cause of mass deaths of Tilapia fishes in the Epe area of Lagos, labelling the accusations as being untrue in their entirety.
Recall that on Sunday, 17th March 2024, officials of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) visited the site of Renecon located at Epe in response to a trending social media video report made by the Tilapia fish farmers of their losses in Ebute Afuye Cluster of Epe Town following the death of many Tilapia fishes in the area.
Speaking with newsmen on Monday, Managing Director of Renecon Limited, Anthony Bademosi disclosed that this is about the second petition by unknown persons to LASEPA against his company, adding that the first petition collapsed after due diligent investigations and wondered how his company activities, which is far away from the location of the fish farm, could have impacted the unfortunate circumstances.
“We believe that some powerful interests, using the instruments of State agencies, want to get rid of us in Epe. Renecon Limited operates under extant laws both within the Federal and State government environmental rubrics. We have conducted our activities well and are on good terms with our local stakeholders, so for some faceless and alleged fish farmers to want to frame us as the oxygenators of the unfortunate mortality of caged Tilapia fishes in Epe is not only pedestrian but a failed clever diversionary tactics to bring us down.
“We have done our best to cooperate with LASEPA in their investigations in the past, and are ready to cooperate with them now and in the future. However, a situation where our representatives are not allowed to witness the collection of samples is unacceptable to us.
“Furthermore, we have informed our lawyers to help us track down the persons behind the very unsavory petition with hope to call them out and not allow them to disrupt our operations and set us up against the host community which has been supportive of our presence here,” a distraught Renecon boss stated.
According to the Renecon boss, traditional fish farmers and informed stakeholders thought that Water Hyacinth which is a seasonal environmental malice impacting water transportation and lives of Marine resources and fisheries in the State, and in particular the Epe area, caused the death of the caged tilapia fishes as the vegetation covered and heated the lagoon surface and drastically reduced the oxygen levels underwater needed for fishes and other marine resources to survive.
“The Executive Chairman of Epe Local Government, Princess Surah Olayemi Animashaun has absolved Renecon from the alleged maritime infractions through the media, pointing to the massive presence of water Hyacinth which took over the entire fish farming area as the cause of the fish mortality. Renecon however wonders at the relentless allegations by unknown persons who are determined to bring down and rubbish the integrity of the company.
“We would like to put on record that LASEPA did not give the management of Renecon any prior notice of their planned visit, or gave the company’s representatives an opportunity to witness the collection of the samples they collected at several locations that they said they needed to conduct an investigations of the fish farmers unfounded and unsupported allegations,” the Renecon MD added.
To ensure that its activities are citizens, Mr Bademosi further informed that Renecon maintains and repairs all the roads within its operational environment; employs sweepers in collaboration with Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to ensure a clean environment; constructed speed bumps to control speed by truckers and other road users around the vicinity; employed traffic controllers, and also provide clean water through a borehole for the community.
“Conclusively, we made it a point of duty to comply with environmental laws because we are a responsible company, and our integrity is top notch, so those who wants to bring us down, will fail and fail again,” Mr Bademosi submitted.