BY DAVID ADUGE-ANI
The Mandate Secretary, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat of the FCT Administration (FCTA), Comrade Abdullahi Suleiman Ango, has restated the Administration’s commitment to protecting the natural ecosystem, describing sustainable forest management as a top development priority.
Ango made the remark at a two-day validation workshop on the FCT Forest, Wildlife and Biodiversity Policy and Draft Act held in Gwagwalada.
The workshop, organized by Vakoson Consulting Limited in collaboration with the FCT ACReSAL Project and the FCTA, brought together key stakeholders to validate the draft policy.
Ango said forests are an essential life-support system whose preservation is no longer optional but imperative.
“It is no longer a matter of choice but an absolute necessity that we conserve and manage them effectively with the urgency they deserve,” he said.
He assured that under the leadership of Minister Nyesom Wike and Minister of State Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, the FCTA would ensure quick adoption of the final forest policy once validated.
FCT ACReSAL Project Coordinator, Mrs. Caroline Opara, said the policy process, which began in 2024, was a vital step toward sustainable forest resource management.
She lamented that ineffective legislation in the past had led to desert encroachment, biodiversity loss, and worsening climate impacts.
Opara commended the World Bank-funded ACReSAL Project for supporting reclamation projects such as the Kuje Forest Plantation and the fencing of forests in Gwagwa and Ushafa to prevent encroachment.
Landscape restoration expert Shuaibu, from the Federal Project Management Unit (FPMU), said the new policy would finally provide the FCT with legal backing to protect its forests.
Vakoson Consulting’s Lead Consultant, Barrister Sylvester Okonufua, said the document emerged after exhaustive stakeholder consultations and technical reviews aimed at ensuring it becomes “a living document” for sustainable forest management.