The Ekiti State Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Barrister Iyabo Fakunle-Okieimen has called on all stakeholders in the forestry sector to support the present administration to boost the revenue coming from the sector.
The Commissioner made the call in Ado Ekiti at a meeting with the Saw millers Association and Timber Trade Association of Ekiti State.
Mrs Okieimen who said the meeting became imperative in order to resolve some issues between the two associations lamented the drastic reduction in the revenue from the sector, charging the two
associations to unite so as to move the sector forward.
She stressed that the sector can only witness development in a
peaceful atmosphere, adding that members should cooperate with one another and allow peace to reign.
The Commissioner who said the government was ready to sanitize the system warned against sharp practices that can draw the sector backwards, urging all stakeholders to redouble their efforts moving the sector to an enviable height.
The Executive Secretary of the Forestry Commission, Mr Festus Akinluyi said the present administration has accorded priority to the welfare
of members of the two associations and urged them to give peace a chance in order to benefit more from government’s gestures.
The Onimesi of Imesi Ekiti, Oba Festus Olatunji Olatunde who also sued for peace among members of the associations advocated for replanting of trees fetched to prevent the forest from going into extinction.
The monarch charged them to work towards improving the revenue coming from the sector, calling on the government to assist the associations in proffering solutions to challenges facing their jobs.
