PATRICK ABANG, Calabar –
In an effort to mitigate climate change, the Cross River State Anti Deforestation Taskforce (ADTF) has embarked on a tree planting campaign across the state.
The exercise was flagged off in Calabar, the state capital by the Chairman and members of the taskforce.
Speaking during the tree planting exercise, Chairman of the taskforce, Mr Agan Odey, said the tree planting was in line with the Green Movement campaign earlier flagged off by the State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade.
Mr. Odey, who said it was part of the taskforce responsibilities to sustain the campaign, disclosed that the exercise would cover other parts of the state, and that efforts were on to get Cross Riverians to participate in the tree planting campaign.
” last month His Excellency flagged off the Green Movement. Today we have located a place to plant our own trees. We are starting from Mary Slessor. We have 115 trees to plant today. We shall extend this exercise to other parts of the state before the dry season set in”.
“We are going out to the nooks and crannies of the state to encourage communities to buy into the idea of tree planting. Cross River State is covered by 31 per cent of tropical rainforest. We are going to meet with village heads, community leaders and ensure that they all get involved in the exercise.”, he said.
The Chairman appealed to the Cross River State House of Assembly to give legislative backing to the operations of the taskforce, adding that it can only arrest but doesn’t have the power to prosecute. He also said that the taskforce needed funding to perform optimally.
“We need operational vehicles and security back up to enable us go into the hinterlands. We need funds so we can hire boats and patrol the waterways and some flashpoints.”, he said.
A member of the taskforce, Mr Sabastine Ekpenyong, while highlighting the challenges confronting the taskforce, said interference from the State Forestry Commission and government appointees have seriously hindered the ADTF from achieving its mandate of curbing illegal logging activities in the state.
Ekpenyong said, “Whenever we go out to arrest illegal loggers, the State Forestry Commission would come out to hinder our assignment. We also noticed that Chairmen of local governments and the SAs do come out to obstruct us. We are pleading with Gov. Ayade to put up security measures to enable us carry out our duties successfully.”
On his part, Mr John Akpong, the Store Officer of the Anti Deforestation Taskforce, submitted that mobility is essential for the operations of ADTF. He, therefore, appealed to the state government to release vehicles to the taskforce to enhance their operational effectiveness.
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