As the countdown begin towards the end of the first 100 days in office by the Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, one of his promises of creating jobs for the teeming unemployed youths in the state is beginning to materialise.
The state government has recently commenced its first face of recruitment into the special task force code-named ‘Green Police’ where over 8,000 applicants submitted applications for the recruitment.
The exercise, when concluded across the three senatorial districts of the state, will according to the State Governor, engage over a thousand youths across the state to be self-reliant.
Ayade was speaking on Monday shortly after the first phase of the recruitment exercise which was held at the UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar, the Cross River State Capital, with about 4,000 applicants on ground for the screening exercise.
The Governor revealed that the Green Police Project would increase the forest cover of the state, with aggressive and massive planting of trees, and raising of nursery beds.
He further stressed that the purpose of establishing Green Police in the state was to protect the forest, plant trees, protect the coastal land, among other environmental conservation programme in their perspective communities under Forestry Commission.
The first phase of the recruitment exercise covered the seven local council areas of the Southern Senatorial District which attracted 4,000 applicants, while that of the remaining two Senatorial districts of Northern and Central are expected in a few days.
The Green Police, according to Governor Ayade, is charged with the policing and management of the state’s forest, preservation of the forest natural resources, urban afforestation, community-based control of illegal logging, monitoring and information system of the forest among others.
