Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, has outlawed the felling of trees, for charcoal fuel, in an effort to curb deforestation and climate change.

Fintiri issued the ban on Thursday while hosting a delegation of traditional leaders in the state led by the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who represented the Lamido of Adamawa, Dr Barkindo Mustapha, who is the Chairman of the Adamawa Council of Emirs and Chiefs.

The delegation paid him Sallah homage at the Presidential Lounge, Yola Government House.

Fintiri, who thanked the traditional rulers for finding it worthy to felicitate him on the occasion, sued for their cooperation, in supporting his decision to ban the burning of trees for charcoal in the state.

The governor, who also met with state legislators led by the Speaker of the Assembly, Barthiya Wesley, reiterated the ban on the cutting of trees for charcoal fuel in the state.

He said, “I just passed a directive to our traditional institutions that henceforth, even though we have a law that prohibits the felling of trees, that law has not been implemented fully. Now, I have given the directive that henceforth, there will be no cutting of trees, especially in the name of burning it down for charcoal.

“So, it is for all of us as stakeholders to ensure that it is fully implemented.”

The governor said recent flooding had shown the adverse effects of not paying enough attention to the drivers of climatic change such as the indiscriminate felling of trees for the production of charcoal as fuel.

Earlier former Vice President, Abubakar, said Fintiri’s developmental stride was unparalleled in the history of Adamawa state. He promised the cooperation of traditional institutions to the government.

Fintiri said he was not taking his second-term victory for granted, promising that the next four years would be far better than the first tenure.

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