The Ogun State Government has warned community leaders residing within the government forest reserve areas to stop allocating government land to farmers, individuals or corporate bodies.

The state Commissioner for Forestry, Chief Kolawole Lawal, spoke at Ijebu-Igbo, in the Ijebu North Local Government Area of the state, during a familiarisation tour of forest reserve areas.

He said traditional rulers, who indulge in the habit of collecting money from cocoa farmers in exchange for land, should stop or face the wrath of the law.

Lawal noted that it was wrong for anybody to allocate government land for any reason, adding that the state would also not condone planting of cocoa in the forest reserve areas without authorisation.

He said, “It is very absurd that some Baales (local rulers) engage in the act of lawlessness; they collect money from some farmers and allocate lands to them to destroy our trees. We are using this opportunity to tell those people to desist from the act, but if they refuse to comply, we know what to do.”

Lawal urged forest guards in the state to be diligent and passionate, adding that the ministry was ready to provide them with necessary tools to aid their job.

Source: Punch