14th December, 2023
Residents of 17 communities in Ijebu-East/North Local Government Area who are seen as “illegal farmers and timber contractors” by the Ogun State Government have been ordered to vacate the elephant conservation area in the Omo Forest Reserve.
The order was issued by state Commissioner for Forestry, Taiwo Oludotun, during a meeting with farmers, village heads and timber contractors at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
What Oludotun said was made known through a press release by the Press Officer, Ministry of Forestry, Luke Adebesin, on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the commissioner said , “The 17 communities are: Eseke, Tamitami, Bridge, Korede, Fatai, Sojukorodo, Etemi- Gerade, Onigburugburu, Erifun, Aba Alhaja, Erimogan, Ologunna, Ori Apata, Imaba, Apora, Fatai 2 and Yomi Iga.”
He said that it was illegal that cocoa seedlings be planted within the state’s forest reserves. He said: “The state Ministry of Forestry will not fold its arm and allow illegalities to continue within its forest reserves, any timber contractor found to be involved in cocoa plantation within the reserves, the government property hammer of such contractor will be withdrawn”.
