FG Imposes Immediate Ban on Timber Exports, Revokes All Licences

As part of effort to combat rampant deforestation and environmental degradation, the Federal Government on Wednesday announced an immediate nationwide prohibition on the export of wood and allied products.

The government also revoked all existing export licences and permits in the sector.

The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, declared the sweeping policy during the opening session of the 18th National Council on Environment in Katsina State. The action is backed by a new Presidential Executive Order, signalling President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s aggressive stance against illegal logging and forest exploitation.

“Our forests are under severe threat, and we cannot afford to keep losing them at this alarming rate,” the minister stated before an assembly of state environment commissioners and experts. “The continued exportation of wood and timber directly undermines our environmental sustainability, biodiversity, and climate resilience.”

The policy is contained in the “Presidential Executive Order on the Prohibition of Exportation of Wood and Allied Products, 2025,” which was officially gazetted on 16 October 2025.

According to Lawal, the directive draws its legal authority from Sections 17(2) and 20 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which mandate the state to protect and improve the environment, safeguard natural resources, and prevent their exploitation for private gain to the detriment of the community.

To enforce the order, security agencies—including the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigeria Police Force, and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA)—have been directed to commence a nationwide clampdown on all illegal logging operations and timber export activities.

State governments are also expected to collaborate with federal authorities in enforcing the ban within their jurisdictions.

In his address at the council meeting, the Deputy Governor of Katsina State, Faruk Lawal Jobe, welcomed the policy, noting that environmental preservation was critical for national development.

“We in Katsina have experienced firsthand the devastating effects of deforestation and desert encroachment. A unified, national approach such as this ban is essential to reclaiming our green cover and securing a sustainable future,” he said.

Environmentalists have long campaigned for such a ban, pointing to World Bank data which indicates Nigeria has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, losing over 400,000 hectares of forest annually. The timber export trade, much of it illicit, has been identified as a key driver of this loss, alongside agricultural expansion and charcoal production.

The minister emphasised that the ban aligns with Nigeria’s international commitments on climate action and sustainable development. He added that the government would roll out alternative livelihood programmes for communities that currently depend on logging, focusing on afforestation, agroforestry, and eco-tourism.