Lake Chad: FG urged to ratify AU Convention

The Federal Government has been urged to lead other West African countries to urgently ratify the African Union (AU) Convention on the conservation of nature and natural resources.

The chairman of State of the Union (SOTU), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Mr. Okeke Anya, who made the call in Abeokuta yesterday, argued that one of the major benefits of such step would be the preservation of the Lake Chad Basin.

He regretted that the movement of herdsmen and their cattle from countries around the Basin in search of grazing fields was detrimental to the survival of the Basin.

Anya who spoke at a Press conference to mark the 2016 AU Day, said government’s attitude towards protecting the environment was very poor despite certain demands of the Union in protecting the environment.

His words: “The Lake Chad is drying up as a result of the activities of these herdsmen around the Basin. Herdsmen are migrating because they need to feed their cattle and they will continue to migrate.