The directive came against the backdrop of the fact that bandits, criminal herdsmen and kidnappers use such reserves as haven for their nefarious activities.
Hoeever, Prof Samuel Erugo, SAN, said since forestry was not listed on the Exclusive Legislative List, states had powers to legislate on it.
It will be recalled that Ondo State governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, drew the nation’s attention to the activities of criminal herdsmen in the state’s forest reserves and used the instrumentality of the reactivated 1969 Cattle Trade Law to evict the herders.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Mr Boss Mustapha, who gave the charge at the first quarter, 2021, meeting of the Forum of the SGF and Secretaries to State Governments, SSGs, in Abuja, said the Federal Government will also strengthen the capacity of the National Parks Service to protect Nigeria’s 17 national parks against criminal gangs.
He said: “We all know that these criminal elements have turned our hitherto pristine forest reserves into an operational base and hide-out from which most of their activities are launched and sustained.
Of course, we would still need our forests and other protected areas for the services they provide, especially as foreign exchange earners, sources of job creation, guaranteeing availability of soil nutrients and water for food security, serving as carbon sinks for addressing climate change and providing clement environment for a healthy living.
Therefore, the challenge is for governments at the state level to put in place processes and mechanisms that were hitherto operational for maintaining a sustainably managed forests, as all forests in the country belong to state governments
Reviewed by Jude
on
March 19, 2021
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