March 06, (THEWILL) – Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has threatened to use his political appointees who engage in illegal logging as scapegoats.

The governor disclosed this in Calabar while reacting to the massive logging that has depleted the huge forest and biodiversity endowments of the state.

The governor also said his government was all out to fight illegal wood loggers in the state.

“From today, anybody caught with illegal wood, your vehicle, the driver, the occupants of that vehicle, the destination of the stolen wood, the government official, the security operatives and forest guards who are colluding will be picked up and dealt decisively with.

“We will ensure that we involve the entire global community to sit and watch and monitor your prosecution to ensure that justice is done.

“We are ready to use as scapegoats one or two people who are holding top government offices or people who feel they are connected to the Governor or those who feel they are politicians and then create an impression that by the appointments they have, they can now collude with illegal wood loggers.

“My administration has no interest in any person who thinks that by their status, they can deplete the forest and put the futures of generations unborn into such catastrophic and cataclysmic danger. This is unacceptable,” the governor threatened.

He said his administration was tired of setting up conventional task forces and committees to tackle the menace and will henceforth explore other options, including a special espionage.