Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State has banned the felling of trees and burning of wood for charcoal production in the State.
The governor gave the order when he received traditional rulers who paid him Sallah homage from across the state and later to members of the state House of Assembly who visited him at the Government House in Yola on Sallah homage.
Fintiri said an existing law against tree cutting and use of tree trunks to produce charcoal for cooking would henceforth be strictly enforced.
He then advised residents who use charcoal for domestic cooking to find alternative energy sources.
Fintiri said: “We have reached the firm decision that there should be no felling of trees and production of charcoal. All of us are expected to play our part to ensure that the law against tree cutting which we have not been implementing should now be implemented strictly.
“I said this to the traditional rulers when they came. We must all do what we need to do in our respective capacities. We have to encourage our people to turn to sustainable alternatives to charcoal.”
The governor explained that extensive felling of trees mostly to burn and produce charcoal had been found to cause flooding around the state.
“We have seen places that were hitherto free of flooding now being frequently flooded, causing destruction to our farms, homes and valuable assets,” Finitri added.