Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni has identified poverty as a key driver pushing people to embark on indiscriminate felling of trees in the State.
This, he said, must be checkmated to secure the future of the State.
Buni represented by his Deputy stated this at the Yobe State security council meeting which brought together heads of security agencies in the state, 17 local government chairmen, traditional rulers, among others.
He said, “Yobe state like most states in Northern Nigeria, is basically a rural and agricultural economy with over 70% of its population participating in agriculture that is recurrently characterized with low yield.”
“Apart from natural factors such as desertification, desert encroachment and low level of rainfall, agricultural production is also negatively affected by man-made factors, such as indiscriminate felling of trees and bush burning”, he said.
The Governor explained that successive and present administrations in the State made concerted efforts with the aim of creating attitudinal change on life pattern through enlightenment on the dangers of felling of trees, bush burning and the need for reforestation as provided in the law, but all yielded unimpressive results.
“Due to our grievous concern about the condition of the environment and the need to take urgent measures to protect it, henceforth government would not condone nonchalant attitude of our traditional rulers at the grassroots with regards to indiscriminate felling of trees, bush burning as well as undue allocation of farmlands”, Buni warned.
He also warned that any district, ward or village head found wanting will be dealt with decisively, as a high-powered monitoring committee under the chairmanship of the State Deputy Governor has been constituted to ensure compliance.
Environmental degradation: Yobe Gov, Buni goes tough on traditional rulers, others
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