Ukorebi Esien | September 3, 2025
CALABAR — In a bid to sanitised the forestry sector, the Cross River State Government has intensified its reforms in the sector cracking down on illegal activities, while making public officially approved revenue subheads.
This was contained in two separate memos circulated from the forestry commission earlier today. The memos informed that all unauthorized evacuation passes previously in circulation have been withdrawn while a list of approved collections were published.
In one of the memos signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Commission, Mrs. Bassey Onoyom Bassey, it's states that field staff have been sternly warned against issuing unapproved passes, stressing that violators will face severe consequences. She noted that the move is part of efforts to restore normalcy, end revenue leakages, and curb illegal logging across the state.
Furthering the reforms, the Chairman/CEO of the Forestry Commission, Ntufam (Dr.) George O'Ben-Etchi, disclosed that the government has approved the automation of evacuation passes as well as the streamlining of all revenue collections under the Cross River State Internal Revenue Service (CRIRS).
He listed the recognized revenue subheads as follows:
1. Fines and fees
2. Hammering fees
3. Industrial development levy on timber
4. Joint Tax Board levy
5. Road infrastructure levy
6. Timber market charges
7. Chain saw levies
8. Sawmill charges
9. Timber shade levies
10. Non-timber forest product levies
11. Levies from quarries and farms operating in forest reserves.
Dr. O'Ben-Etchi warned that any individual or group found engaging in unauthorized collections or operating outside the approved framework will be sanctioned. He emphasized that the reforms are designed to ensure transparency, block illegal collections, and increase the state's internally generated revenue (IGR) for development projects.
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