Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State said government will collaborate with Traditional Rulers in the state in a renewed fight against excessive Tree felling, Bush burning, deforestation and other human acts that negatively impact on the environment.
Receiving members of the State Council of Traditional Rulers in Government House, Minna, the Governor lamented on the increasing level of Tree felling and bush burning in the state which, he said, have continued to expose our environment to the clutching effects of climate change.
He noted that the effect of climate change on the environment was real stressing that, rather than felling trees, there was a the need for an aggressive Tree-planting campaign to prevent desert encroachment and protect the environment from degradation.
Governor Sani Bello enjoined the traditional rulers, especially the District and Village Heads to enlighten and discourage their subjects from carrying out environmentally unfriendly acts that could result in low agricultural production.
The Governor disclosed that the Taskforce on the prohibition of Tree felling and or the Forest Vanguards would be reconstituted and revitalized to effectively monitor and enforce compliance against the trend.
“Our environment is getting depleted daily because of the activities of these people. We are already feeling the impact, it is affecting our farmers and food production generally. The time has come to act, to protect the environment for us and our future generation”.he said.
The Etsu Nupe and Chairman of the State Council of Traditional Rulers, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar III, in an interview, expressed optimism that the joint effort will minimize activities of the Tree Fellers.
While pledging their loyalty and support to the policies and programmes of the state government, the Etsu Nupe assured that the Emirs will support the tree planting campaign because it’s a necessary step towards environmental regeneration.
” We welcome the development, we are supportive of the state government and we will try our best to educate and discourage our people from illegal felling of Trees because of its obvious consequences”.Etsu Nupe stated.
