The Ondo Ministry of Natural Resources generated more than N500 million in revenue in the last 10 months, Tunde Atere, the Commissioner for Natural Resources, said.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!He stated this when he received the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources on oversight function on Friday in Akure.
“We acknowledge the presence of our lawmakers and we are glad to say that all our departments are up to the task given them.
“Through our synergy efforts, we have realised more than N500 million so far this year; the month of December is the major fund-generating period for the Department of Produce.
“I can assure you that we will generate more than N100 million through this department in the remaining days of the year,’’ he said.
He said the money was realised in spite of the closure of all forest reserves by the state government due to illegal operation.
Atere said the ministry, however, needed more personnel to monitor sources of revenue.
He also said that the ministry needed patrol vehicles to check activities of smugglers and encroachers, especially in areas with difficult terrain where a lot of motorcycles are needed.
“If all these are addressed, all loopholes will be blocked and invariably, the economy will be boosted,’’ he said.
Responding, the chairman of the committee, Mr Aladetimilehin Joseph, commended the ministry for its giant stride and thanked Gov. Olusegun Mimiko for appointing the technocrat as its commissioner.
He urged the commissioner to forward all the ministry’s needs to the House and to also include them in budget preparation for consideration.
“On the need for more personnel, I think it should be raised at state executive meeting and I assure you that it will be considered because this is an area the state relies on,” he said.
Mr Ade Okiki, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, assured the committee that the ministry would continue to work hard.
“We will surpass the target at the end of the year, but we need more support so that in the next two years, our forest reserves will bounce back,” Okiki said. (NAN)
