By Emma Una, CALABAR

CONSERVATIONISTS, Civil Society Organisations, youth leaders and community elders, at the weekend, raised the alarm over the presence of Chinese in Effi community in the Cross River Reserved Forest area for undisclosed business.

Giving the warning on the platform of Coalition Against Illegal Logging and Mining in Cross River, CALAMA CRS, the stakeholders said after an intensive round table meeting in Calabar to x-ray the situation it became imperative to let the public know of what was going on.

They said: “Transactions in the Cross River forests should only take place under conditions in which the identities of the those involved and the nature of business they expect to carry out have been transparently disclosed to the resource owners, which include the community, government and other others.

“Government should, therefore, halt all transactions with the Chinese nationals and suspend all negotiations purportedly carried out by anyone or the chiefs on behalf of the Effi community until full disclosures are made of their security clearances, immigration protocols, the identities and mission of the Chinese who are presently conducting business in Okuni community.”

The resolution signed by Chief Odey Oyama, Peter Bette, and twenty-one others, stated that copies of agreements that the Effi Traditional Council has entered into or proposes to enter into with the Chinese should be made available to the entire Effi community members for scrutiny for the purpose of clarity and common purpose.

The coalition said it has observed that the incursion of the Chinese into the forest has not been officially communicated to the Cross River State Government, Cross River State House of Assembly or the Cross River State Forestry Commission which are key players in the forest reserves in the state.

“It is imperative that those who brought Chinese into the Effi community forest which is a part of the Cross River South Forest Reserve should officially communicate to the Executive Arm, the State House of Assembly and the Forestry Commission in the hope that all documents pertaining to the Chinese, their business interests, agreements signed with the Traditional Rulers Council of Effi Community and all other things pertaining to this transactions should be made known.”

The coalition, also in its resolution, called for an end to the activities of those it referred to as “forest bandits” who have been operating in the Okuni community forest which adjoins the Cross River South Forest Reserve and the Okpon River Forest Reserve.

They said: “These operations have been going on with the active support of external operators. The said external operators use local surrogates to perpetrate their illegal activities.

“RRDC’s efforts to hinder the illegal operations of the bandits in Okuni community forest have met with a series of resistance. The said resistance of the bandits, who use illegal firearms to back up their operations, have put the lives of the community-based Green Rangers at grave risk.”

Mr Joseph Etene, the Chairman of Cross River Forestry Commission told Vanguard that he was neither aware of the presence of Chinese in the area nor the business they are transacting.