Ondo state timber association protest logging ban, says N200bn lost

Ondo State Timbers Trade Association members have set out to protest continued ban on logging activities in the state on Wednesday.

Ondo state government had banned logging activities following the activities of unauthorised persons in the forests.

The Zonal Chairman of OSTTA, Mr  Williams Atibioke, said the state government would suffer in terms of paying billions in compensation to them if the ban on logging activities was not reversed.

He said they were waiting for the planned intervention of traditional institution on the issue which was why the protest was not to shut down activities.

He said, “We are legitimate owners of the forest. We are allottees of the forest. He (the governor) allows others, the illegal occupants to take up our jobs. He allowed them to evacuate the already felled woods.

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“We want to show him our grievances. We were informed that traditional rulers want to intervene. If they could not resolve this, the state government will pay dearly for it in cash.

“We have paid billions of naira. In the last three months, we have lost over N200bn. There were no reasons given for the closure of the forest. We didn’t have any dialogue before logging activities were stopped.”

But the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, urged the timber merchants to give government time to harness all available options towards making the sector better.