… as union rakes N4m IGR monthly to Govt.

By Abdul Momoh

The Kwara State Timber Chain-Saw Millers Association has call on the Kwara State Government to rise up to its duty by curbing the incessant present of foreigners in the state’s forestry.

Speaking on this backdrop, the president of the association, Alhaji Babatunde Magaji stated this during a chart with newsmen in his office, recently.

According to him, ‘the presence of foreigners from Niger and other countries across the state’s forestry is alarming, hence poses threats to the Kwara State economy.’

“The challenges before us Miller in the state is enormous, part of which are the presence of aliens in the bush that plight their trade without a check or regulations by the government.

“All the forestry across Kwara State have been invaded by people who are not from Kwara, but people from Niger and white men from other countries destroying our forest.

“How can we allows foreigners to be toying on the Kwara source of revenue to develop their own country. They cuts trees indiscriminately without recourse to the laid down procedures,” Magaji Said.

Continuing, ‘Early this year, our association had a meeting with the Commissioner of Environments and Forestry where we laid before him this observed challenges. He pledged to take a proactive step on it, but the emergence of Covid-19 pandemics perhaps posed hiatus to that.’

He added that KwaraTimber Chain-Saw ranked one of the best source through which the state gets her IGR, as the union generated up to N4 million per month to the covers of Kwara State Government.

“We are up to 1,000 people in the state alongside our employees who are up to 10,000. We pay N16,000 in taxes per head annually. For any motor that enters forestry, Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) generates up to N4 million per month on us,” he stressed.

Magaji however charged the Kwara State Government to come up with a good policy on afforestation and put in place a task force that can bite to send the foreigners on Kwara State soil away.

“We want the Kwara State Government to plant trees. They should send all these foreigners in the bush away by setting up a regulatory body to curtail their excesses.

“The government should also plough back on us our prompt payment of licenses by add our union among other association in the state in terms of loan disbursement,” he concluded.

In the his own view, the secretary of the association, Olomun Collins asked the state government to clamps down on charcoals dealers in the state as their activities are illegal and exposes the soil surface to erosion via deforestation.

“The activities of charcoal people in the state have to be curb because they deforestate the bush which it exposes the earth to global warming.

” They cuts trees indiscriminately without following due process which includes the aliens in the bush”, Collins said.

  Alhaji Babatunde Magaji, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Ilorin, Kwara State, Timber ChainSaw Millers