The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) and the Lagos State Task Force have shut down the popular Quilox Club in Victoria Island, Lagos, for failing to comply with directives on organizing events and not obtaining a sound control permit.
The enforcement action was taken following numerous complaints from residents in the area about alleged environmental nuisances being caused by the club without consideration for the rights of other residents to a peaceful environment.
“To avert a situation like this, we recently held a stakeholders’ parley with the Owners/Chief Executive Officers of night clubs in the State to address the issue of noise pollution, particularly during the festive period,” said Dr. Dolapo Fasawe, General Manager of LASEPA.
“Lagos had earlier increased the decibels to accommodate leisure/hospitality business interests. We, however, urged them to apply for sound control permits before hosting events to enable us to reach out to the host community of the intended programme and further deploy our officials to the venue for proper monitoring and prevention of excessive noise pollution.”
According to Fasawe, an invitation was extended to Quilox Club, like every other stakeholder, but it was ignored by the management for reasons unknown. She emphasized that no individual or group is above society and the agency will continue to ensure that all interests are protected under the law.
“Entertainment and Lagos are like a conjoined twin, thus our prolific intervention to preserve the sanctity of the State and at the same time sustained its economic relevance through aggressive environmental sustainability drive,” said Fasawe.
“To support the entrepreneurship interest of the operators. We came up with a communique which serves as a bond guiding all parties on the mode of operations during the yuletide period and the attendant consequences for non-compliance to the agreement.”
LASEPA developed the communique to serve as a bond guiding the operations of all parties during the holiday season and outlining the consequences for non-compliance.
The agency’s efforts to sustain the economic relevance of Lagos through environmental sustainability are aimed at supporting the entrepreneurial interests of operators while also preserving the sanctity of the state. Entertainment and Lagos are closely intertwined, and LASEPA is committed to preserving the state’s economic relevance through an aggressive environmental sustainability drive.
The agency had previously increased the decibel level to accommodate leisure and hospitality business interests, but urged club owners to apply for sound control permits before hosting events to enable the agency to reach out to the host community and deploy officials to the venue for proper monitoring and prevention of excessive noise pollution.
