Environment
Don Lists Gains Of Forestry
A university teacher, Prof. Tope Ajayi, has said that forestry has the potential of helping to create dependable economic fortunes for the Federal Government and the 36 states in their ongoing economic diversification efforts, if properly harnessed.
Ajayi made the assertion yesterday in Ado-Ekiti during an interview with newsmen.
The professor of Forestry and Wood Technology at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), said billions of naira is lost on yearly basis due to inactivity in the forestry corridor.
According to him, forestry business can create sustainable wealth, enough to cater for the needs of the various levels of government, as demonstrated in certain countries of the world
He said the veritable revenue sources, huge employment opportunities that abound in the forestry sector would change the fortunes of the country for good, if proper attention is deployed.
According to him, initiating effective policies on the economic growth of forestry business would also enhance the nation’s export trade.
He expressed regrets that some of the states had been playing politics with implementation of forest laws, thereby causing destruction to country’s potential in the subsector, and subjecting people to dangers of global warming, erosion and flooding.
He insisted that good investments in forest value chain could create wealth through provision of raw materials and finished products for industrial growth, saying these could also engender foreign earnings for the country.
“ There are a lot of gains in the forest value chain and it can add values to our economy, if fully harnessed.
“ In 1982, I produced a particle board using urea formaldehyde as binder and I was given a national recognition.
“The depletion of wood resources and accompanying saw dust gave me the impetus to conduct research on the possibility of using agricultural wastes to producing particle board for flooring, partitioning, furniture and other industrial and household use.
“I investigated the use of groundnut shell, rice husk, beans coat, maize stalk and other agricultural wastes using urea formaldehyde, recycled plastic, car battery case, cement and pozzolan as binder.
“Nigeria can indeed gain enormous economic benefits these research outputs are up-scaled and commercialised,” he said.
Ajayi disclosed that the reason why Ondo and Ekiti, in particular had not been able to tap their forest potential maximally was that they were fond of playing politics with the extant forest laws.
He said in some states, sawmill operators, timber contractors and others are going to the free forest areas and forest reserves to fell trees indiscriminately.
The don further added that by forestry laws, there are areas where you can only cut five trees, there are areas where you have to cut one tree and plant four in replacement as well as game reserves in our forest reserves, where one can not kill animals.
He lamented how governments have been receiving all these reports and allegedly looking away pretending as if nothing was happening.
He therefore suggested that only professionals, whose major responsibility and goal is to ensure the protection, proper management, and sustainable utilisation of forest resources for economic gains among others be saddled with management of forest reserves.
The Federal Government has signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to remove tariffs on selected products.
Rep. Sam Onuigbo a member of the Governing Board of the North-East Development Commission, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.
Onuigbo said that the agreement signed in Abu Dhabi from Jan. 11 to 15, marked a major breakthrough for Nigeria-UAE economic relations.
NAN reports that Onuigbo, a member of the House of Representatives of Nigeria who represented Ikwuano/Umuahia North and South Federal Constituency, served as Chairman, Committee of Climate Change during the 8th Assembly.
“Under the CEPA signed in January 2026, UAE will eliminate tariffs on 7,315 Nigerian products. This includes immediate duty-free access for 2,805 products (38.3 per cent).
” The rest will phase out over three to five years, covering agricultural and industrial goods.
“Similarly, under the Nigeria/UAE CEPA also signed in January 2026, Nigeria has eliminated tariffs on 6,243 products imported from UAE. That agreement creates these wonderful opportunities between Nigerians and the Emirates,” he said.
Onuigbo said that the agreement was massive as it would facilitate an environment for business owners in Nigeria.
He said the pact would enable verified Nigerian business owners to establish offices in UAE, operate for up to three months and return home with expanded commercial networks.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for the agreement, saying it aimed at repositioning the country while also creating an enabling environment for employment opportunities.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s readiness for business, noting that the country also unveiled its carbon market framework policy to attract climate-focused investments
”Nigeria is a nation of nearly 250 million people and has had, over the years, the challenge of enough energy or power to be able to attain its economic and industrialisation targets.
“And because of that, Nigeria has been engaging in different activities, for instance, the Energy Transition Plan, enactment of the Climate Change Act, and the Electricity Act which the President signed barely eight days after he assumed office in 2023.
“This shows the importance of addressing the energy gap having enough energy. Electricity is a fundamental point to developing industrially which Nigeria deems necessary,” he said.
Onuigbo lauded Nigeria’s participation at the Abu Dhabi summit saying that the summit would strengthen global economic opportunity for people.
He added that the President’s collaboration would address the challenges and devastating effects of climate change as well as boost economic growth in 2026
Environment
HYPREP Completes Phase One Mangrove Restoration In Ogoniland, Warns Against Re-Pollution
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, says it has achieved a major environmental milestone in Ogoniland with the full completion of Phase One of its mangrove restoration programme, even as it warned that renewed pollution could erase years of painstaking cleanup.
“We have completed Phase One planting and restoration at 100 per cent. We are now in the monitoring stage, with some sites already observed for up to nine months,” he said.
Beyond mangroves, Aguiyi reported significant progress in soil and groundwater remediation, describing the last quarter as one of HYPREP’s most productive periods since the Ogoni cleanup commenced.
He disclosed that shoreline cleanup has reached about 77 per cent completion, while access to safe drinking water has expanded across Ogoni communities.
“We have restored 100 per cent potable water supply to Ebubu, and reconstruction work has commenced at the Gwara Waterfall,” Aguiyi stated.
On infrastructure, he said key equipment for the long-awaited Ogoni Power Project has been procured and secured at the Wiyaakara substation, signalling movement toward energy support for the restoration effort.
Despite the progress, Aguiyi warned that re-pollution remains the single greatest threat to the success of the Ogoni cleanup.
“Our major concern is waking up one day to find areas cleaned with Ogoni people’s resources re-polluted by activities beyond our control,” he said, stressing that environmental recovery must be protected as much as it is delivered.
He attributed the sharp decline in illegal artisanal refining in Ogoniland over the past two to three years to sustained community engagement and alternative livelihood programmes, which he said have reduced economic dependence on destructive practices.
“We have not recorded incidents of artisanal refining in Ogoniland in the last two to three years, and that is the result of consistent sensitisation and viable livelihood options,” he added.
Aguiyi reaffirmed HYPREP’s willingness to collaborate with companies and partners operating in Ogoniland, noting that initiatives aligned with the project’s environmental and social objectives would be reviewed and adopted where appropriate.
He also said recommendations from recent independent and internal reports are already being implemented, underscoring HYPREP’s commitment to transparency, accountability, environmental recovery, and improved livelihoods for Ogoni communities.
Environment
Over Six Million Benue Residents Exposed To Neglected Tropical Diseases – State Government
The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Paul Ogwuche, disclosed this during a press conference to mark the 2026 World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, organised in collaboration with Sightsavers and themed “Unite, Act, Eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).”
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Beatrice Tsavmbu, the commissioner announced the successful elimination of blinding trachoma in Gwer East, Gwer West and Ukum Local Government Areas, attributing the feat to years of targeted interventions, strong community participation and sustained implementation of the state’s NTDs Control and Elimination Programme.
“I am proud to announce the elimination of blinding trachoma in three of our most affected areas—Gwer East, Gwer West and Ukum. No longer will these communities face the blindness that trachoma has long inflicted,” she said.
However, Dr. Tsavmbu noted that Benue State remains highly endemic for several NTDs, with all 23 local government areas experiencing overlapping disease burdens. She listed the diseases to include onchocerciasis (river blindness), lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), schistosomiasis (bilharziasis), soil-transmitted helminth infections (intestinal worms), leprosy, buruli ulcer and snakebite envenoming.
“These conditions collectively put over six million people in Benue State at risk,” she stated.
She revealed that the state had treated an average of more than five million people over the past five years through preventive chemotherapy, morbidity management and disability prevention, supported by Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) initiatives and integrated vector control.
Dr. Tsavmbu also announced a major breakthrough in the fight against river blindness, noting that onchocerciasis endemicity in the state had been reclassified from ongoing transmission to suspected interruption of transmission.
On lymphatic filariasis, she disclosed that 1,064 hydrocele cases had been successfully managed through free surgeries, while 442 lymphoedema patients received free management kits to prevent disease progression. She added that 44 trachoma trichiasis cases were also treated through free surgical interventions.
According to her, Ukum, Logo and Konshisha LGAs have passed Transmission Assessment Survey 1 for lymphatic filariasis, allowing for the cessation of mass drug administration in those areas. In addition, seven other LGAs—Ado, Apa, Kwande, Obi, Ohimini, Oju and Tarka—successfully passed epidemiological monitoring surveys in 2025.
She attributed the progress recorded to strong inter-sectoral collaboration involving agencies such as the Benue Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (BERWASSA), the State Universal Basic Education Board, the Ministry of Education, civil society organisations and security agencies. She also cited the inauguration of the State NTDs Advisory Committee and improvements in supply chain and logistics management systems.
In a related remark, Prof. Edward Omudu of the Department of Biological Sciences, Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi, revealed that the National Universities Commission had recently approved Nigerian universities to offer degree programmes in Water, Sanitation and Health, describing the move as a critical step toward strengthening disease prevention and public health capacity in the country.
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