The Ogun State Government has ruled out plans to relocate residents of communities affected by recurring gaseous emissions in Ijebu-Ode, Ago-Iwoye and Ijebu-Igbo.

The Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, dismissed reports that residents would be relocated as false, insisting the government had no such plan.

The clarification follows a gaseous odour incident on Wednesday that affected several secondary school students across the three towns, prompting their evacuation to hospitals for treatment.

In Ijebu-Ode, dozens of students at Anglican Girls Grammar School, Obalende, involving its public and private sections, were affected and admitted to the General Hospital.

Several students of Ijebu-Igbo Girls Grammar School were also rushed to the General Hospital in Ijebu-Igbo, while schools in Ago-Iwoye reportedly closed abruptly and sent pupils home following the incident.

The development triggered panic at the general hospitals in Ijebu-Ode and Ijebu-Igbo as parents, teachers, guardians and other residents brought affected students for medical attention.

Oresanya said investigations conducted so far by technical teams invited by the state government through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had not indicated the need to evacuate residents of the affected communities.

He maintained that the government would not relocate residents based on the findings available to it so far.

He said, “No plan for such a thing now; the result of our investigation so far is not pointing in that direction. Please disregard the misinformation.”

He urged the public to disregard the news, stressing that the current government has no plan for such relocation.

Meanwhile, a community leader in Ijebu-Igbo in Ogun North local government area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said the rumoured relocation could be a politically motivated plan to acquire land from unsuspecting landlords, which politicians may later share for personal use.

“Here in Ijebu–Igbo, the affected school, Ijebu–Igbo Girls Grammar School (IGGS), alone is a larger community and when such an idea is being mooted, where on earth will they keep land ownership of the neighbouring buildings? Why would the government not consider a more practical solution instead of chasing us away from our properties?

“Some of us have been in this community for over 25 years without hearing about this foul gaseous odour until recently, in April this year. If you now choose to relocate us, would you also relocate those residents at Ago-Iwoye? How about those affected at Our Lady of Apostles Grammar School in Ijebu-Ode? Can they relocate everyone in the Ijebu-Ode township? To where? (The Nation)