Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, the minister of state for Labour and Employment, on Monday sealed two factories in Ogun State over what she described as “hazardous, dehumanising and completely unacceptable” breaches of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) standards.
The affected companies, True Metals Nigeria Limited, a battery recycling plant. and Phoenix Steel Mills Limited, are both located along the Ikorodu–Sagamu industrial corridor.
Speaking after the routine OSH inspection, Onyejeocha said the Renewed Hope Agenda would not permit employers to endanger the lives of Nigerian workers in the name of profit.
“Many of these factories focus only on making money, no matter whose health is at risk, and you can see the atrocities,” she told journalists during the inspection. “We cannot say we are creating jobs while we are killing our people. There is no price for life.”
At True Metals Nigeria Limited, Onyejeocha expressed outrage over the unsafe operations, noting unprotected exposure to lead emissions, lack of automation, and poor hygiene conditions. She said the company had been repeatedly warned and even trained by officials but failed to implement any improvements.
“What I saw today shows that all the things we instructed them to correct have not been addressed. Not even one box ticked,” she said. “Under the Renewed Hope Agenda, there must be automation. You cannot, in this day and age, be opening batteries with your hands, inhaling dangerous emissions, and pretending everything is fine. Most times, they only put on masks when they hear government officials are coming.”
Read also: Outsourced and underpaid: The silent pain of Nigeria’s contract workers
She ordered the immediate sealing of the facility until full compliance is achieved.
“That you are giving our people jobs does not warrant putting their lives at risk,” she added. “No factory should look like that. And we, as regulators, must do our job.”
The minister and her team, including the director of Occupational Safety and Health, Florence Owie, were unable to inspect Phoenix Steel Mills due to unsafe and impassable internal roads. She also observed stagnant water and a lack of drainage, calling the situation “a clear violation of the Factory Act.”
“If the internal roads of a factory are not passable for humans, we can imagine what is inside,” she said. The factory was subsequently sealed pending remedial action.
‘Workers are treated like they are not human beings’
Onyejeocha criticised the widespread exploitation of factory workers across the country, warning that the Ministry will intensify enforcement.
“In many factories, Nigerians are treated like they are not human beings,” she said. “You take workers, pay them N3,000 or N4,000 a day, and expose them to danger. That era is over.”
“We will not leave anyone unmonitored. We will continue our inspections, and if we find you wanting, we will seal your factory,” the minister added.
