By Fatima Muraina
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Ondo State Government has reiterated its commitment towards flushing out encroachers from the state’s forest reserves.
The initiative was part of efforts to encourage timber business in the state.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, Mr. Olatayo Aribo, stated this recently.
Aribo said the development would create a sustainable environment for timber business to thrive, stressing that government will put all hands on deck to retrieve the forests from encroachers.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr David Dada spoke on this Commissioner’s behalf.
He said “We will soon embark on tree planting and replanting and we are ready to take over our lands that have been encroached on by encroachers..”, he said.
He expressed the state government’s readiness to partner with PROWPMAN in the area of afforestation across the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.
Reacting, National President of PROWPMAN, Mr. Ademola Oyaleke, said the association would play a key role in the economic development of the state and Nigeria through employment creation for the teeming youths
His words : “Sustainability is our key goal and we are demonstrating that across the six geographical zones in Nigeria through our tree-planting projects, climate smart initiatives project, capacity building training and collaboration with government, non-governmental organisations and other trade unions across the board.
“Our footstep in the reestablishment of degraded forest reserves across the nation through our forest restoration projects in Ogun, Ekiti, Adamawa, Taraba, Kogi, and Oyo states is evidently our strength.
“Let me assure you that with time the same feat will be replicated in Ondo state.”, he said.
Oyaleke urged association members to uphold sustainable forest management tenets, while calling on government at all levels to tackle the issue of encroachment of forest reserves.
The newly elected state PROWPMAN Chairman, Mr Oluwafemi Ajayi, said the association would acquire 2,000 hectares of forest reserves land to plant different species of trees both exotic and indigenous.
According to him, the association will work in accordance with the directives of the Ondo state government to generate more revenues and boost the IGR of the state.
“We will bring in more international investors to take woodwork in Ondo state out of local levels to international levels,” he declared.
