The Cross River State Civil Service Commission has announced the commencement of a compulsory verification and validation exercise for all Forest Guards recruited in 2024.
The exercise is scheduled to hold from Monday to Wednesday next week at the headquarters of the Cross River State Forestry Commission in Calabar, beginning at 9:00 a.m. daily.
According to the Commission, all affected Forest Guards are expected to appear physically with the originals and photocopies of their credentials, along with two recent passport photographs. The verification is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the personnel structure within the Forestry Commission and improve forest governance across the state.
The initiative aligns with Governor Bassey Edet Otu’s People First philosophy, which prioritizes transparency, accountability, and responsiveness to the needs of Cross Riverians. Officials further disclosed that payment of salaries to all verified Forest Guards will commence immediately after the one-week verification exercise.
As part of the broader intervention by the Support for Africa Integration & Development Initiative (SAIDI-NGO), stakeholders have also stressed the urgent need for Cross River State to encourage the establishment of local processing mills and timber markets. The aim is to create hubs where buyers from across the country can purchase processed wood—rather than allowing external operators to invade the state’s forests, extract raw timber, and transport it to processing mills and markets in the South East, South South, South West, and Northern Nigeria.
SAIDI-NGO maintains that strengthening local timber processing will not only protect the state’s forest resources from exploitation but will also enhance job creation, increase state revenue, and reduce the pressure on forest guards who often struggle with illegal logging activities driven by external demand.
The Commission urged all 2024 Forest Guard recruits to comply with the verification schedule to ensure a smooth and effective process that contributes to safeguarding the state’s rich forest heritage.
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