Ogun Traders Commend Government For Relaxing Ban on Forest Reserves
By ABIODUN JIMOH, ABEOKUTA
For relaxing the ban on illegal forest activities in Ogun State, traders under the aegis of Ifesowapo Traders Association from Area J4. Ijebu East Local Government Area have expressed their appreciation to the state government
This was as a result of the government decision to allow them move their agricultural produce from the forest reserves in spite of the suspension order on forest activities in the state.
Receiving the women group, the wife of the state governor, Mrs .Bamidele Abiodun in company of Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Tokunbo Talabi and Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State, Engr. Ayo Olubori, eulogised women for their roles both at the home front and the nation as a whole.
She added that women were endowed by God to add value to life and therefore should be treated with the utmost care, love and respect to attain their inherent potentials on earth.
Mrs. Abiodun, also applauded the women group for the show of appreciation to government for the partial opening the Area J4 Forest Reserves due to the unacceptable mode of forest operation and management in the reserves, while calling on the women to support government towards contributing their quota towards forest preservation.
She said: “Women are very important stakeholders of government and should be protected, nurtured and make productive for everyone’s better living. Their roles are so much huge that requires urgent attention by all.”
Earlier, the SSG noted that efforts were on to establish a forest vanguard to complement the drive of government towards forest regeneration and preservation for increased revenue, appealing to the women groups to support government achieve good governance across board.
Mr. Talabi added that the assessment of all deplorable roads within the local government area, particularly the forest reserves had been done, assuring that the roads would be rehabilitated to aid business and other social-economic activities in the area.
“I wants to thank you all for the show of appreciation. I am using this medium to call on the women to support government in its determination to monitor activities and developments in our forest reserves,” he stated.
In her response, leader of the group, Chief (Mrs.) Beatrice Yemitan, said the visit was to show appreciation to government for soft-pedalling on the suspension order which enabled the traders to continue plying their trade unhindered. She urged government to urgently come to their aid on the poor state of the roads in the forest reserves.
She thereafter reassured government of their unalloyed support towards the success of the administration, while appealing for the extension of all government’s intervention programmes to traders in the zone.
