-by our correspondent.
Dealers of Charcoal in Niger State are ruing their trade as the State Task Force on Forest Exploitation recently auctioned about 500 bags of the commodity earlier seized from them.
The State considers the role of the charcoal dealers as one of the contributing factors to flooding disasters in the state. In the past few years, the government has been going after those accused of exploiting economic trees and the charcoal dealers in the state having outlawed the trade.
Speaking at the auction site, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ahmed Ibrahim Matane said the state government would not will go after anyone contributing to desertification in the state by engaging in indiscriminate felling of trees for charcoal and timber.
He decried the indiscriminate felling of trees for production of charcoal and the threat it poses to the community leading to soil erosion, desertification and land degradation. The SSG noted that a few unpatriotic people are undermining government’s efforts at protecting forests in the state.
He solicited the support of traditional rulers, community leaders and other stakeholders in combating the menace just as he commended the efforts of the State Task Force on Forest Exploitation for doing a great job.
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