BY OJO SAMSON AYOMIDE
Conservator General, National Park Service (NPS), Dr Ibrahim Goni, says the service has generated N70 million revenue from January 2023 to date from local visitations.
Goni said this on Thursday, July 13, in Abuja when Kenise Hill, Deputy Chief, Political and Economic Section of the United States Consulate General in Lagos, paid a courtesy visit on the park.
Goni said if the service was given the needed support and opportunities by the government as well as private and international organisations, it would perform better.
He identified some of the support needed as proper equipping of rangers, technical, capacity building, infrastructure, collaboration both at the community level, locally and internationally to combat wildlife crime, among others.
Giving an overview of the NPS, Goni identified other achievements of the service as creation of 10 additional national parks, totalling 17 parks across the country.
He listed other achievements as establishment of conservation education clubs and support zone communities in over 238 schools.
The measure, according to him, is to engender conservation ideas in the people to understand the need for tree planting and environmental sustainability.
“The service has enhanced routine anti-poaching patrols and surveillance of the parks through the deployment of high-tech equipment such as drones, powerchute, GSM in some of its national parks,’’ Goni said.
Goni said the visit by the US official was to ascertain if the national park started by the organisation was embraced and sustained by the country.
“It is to see how US can follow-up on NPS, opening up different vistas areas where people can collaborate to ensure that the national park system survives by extension the environment survive, climate change is challenged mitigation is provided.
“So the visit is a very big opportunity for us to be able to get their collaboration, technical assistance and of course what President Bola Tinubu is discussing about investments.
“I look at it as a response to Tinubu’s call for other countries, organisations to come in and invest in Nigeria,’’ Goni said.
