Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State has dissolved the Special Taskforce on Environmental Protection, previously headed by Brigadier General J.A. Faransa (Rtd). The taskforce was directed to wind up and submit its reports and recommendations to the office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG).
In a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary to the SSG, Mrs. Jemimah Nwunuji, it was announced that environmental protection through enforcement would now be managed by the state’s 16 local government councils. The council chairmen will oversee compliance with environmental regulations within their areas.
While some welcomed the taskforce’s dissolution, critics argued that its environmental protection enforcement, particularly the crackdown on charcoal use, had worsened living conditions for the poor. The taskforce, initially established to combat environmental harm, became controversial after the destruction of mining equipment worth billions of naira in Wukari’s Akwana community.